The Nation Newspaper

Tag: master plan

  • Sugar master plan: So far, so …

    Sugar master plan: So far, so …

    Toba Agboola writes on the modest success recorded so far under the Nigerian sugar master plan by the Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment and its implication on the economy

    The creation of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (MITI) from the former Ministry of Commerce and Industry by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, was one of the landmark decisions aimed at repositioning the Nigerian economy for job creation and wealth generation.

    Few months after the creation, the ministry came up with the Industrial Revolution Plan.

    One of the major objectives of the Industrial Revolution Plan of the Federal Government was to strategically reposition the manufacturing sector as a major contributor to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product in the area of job creation and wealth generation through value addition.

    For it to achieve this, the ministry again came up with various plans geared towards creating investment opportunities and also attracting investors.

    Expectedly, in order to bring these laudable objectives to fruition, the ministry directed its policies and programmes at specific areas, especially where the country has comparative and competitive advantage.

    Thankfully, the desired objectives of the ministry have begun to yield appreciable result in the sugar industry.

    Before 2012, Nigeria was among the top five importers of sugar and only produced about three per cent of domestic consumption.

    According to the data from the Nigerian Sugar Development Council, NSDC, before 2012, sugar importation accounted for 97 percent of the total sugar supply in the last 10 years in Nigeria whose cost implication for the country amounts to N530 billion ($3.4 billion).

    The data further revealed that the total sugar produced locally in the same period was a mere 240,000 metric tons. Thus between 2002 and 2005, the country depended purely on sugar importation. Sugar consumption during the period in question was 11.3 million metric tons.

    That is, local production during the period under review was only 8.5 per cent of total sugar consumption while 91.5 per cent was accounted for by importation.

    The implication was that the country was not only losing $3.4 billion to importation of sugar, but also losing 4000 jobs as a result.

    Data from the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) further revealed that Nigeria spent an average of N30billion annually on the importation of sugar over the last 10 years in order to meet its requirement.

    In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Nigeria spent N53.6billion, N73billion and N101billion, respectively on the importation of sugar.

    However, on the 19th September 2012, the Federal Executive Council approved the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) and implementation commenced January 2013.

    Among other things, the introduction of the NSMP was expected to attract over $1billion in both local and foreign direct investments and create over 107, 000 directs jobs locally at the initial stage in the next 10 years.

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, highlighted other benefits of the NSMP to include the generation of 400mgwt of electricity.

    He said the new policy is expected to also generate about 1.6 million tonnes of animal feeds annually; 37,378 permanent jobs; $65.8 million savings in forex on fuel imports annually; and $350 million saving in forex on sugar imports annually.

    Aganga, who presented the memo for the NSMP during the executive meeting in Abuja, was upbeat that the new policy will provide a regime of fiscal and investment incentives over the next 10 years in the development of sugar.

    From available records, the nation’s raw sugar imports dropped to 800,000 tonnes from 1.4 million tonnes in the second quarter of 2013.

    The document, signed by Executive Secretary of NSDC, Dr Latif Busari, stated that refined sugar imports dipped from 1.88 per cent in 2012 to 0.67 per cent in 2013.

    It further said that local price of sugar fell from N9,000 per 50kg in 2012 to N6,950 in 2013, representing a decrease of 23 per cent.  The document said that total national demand for sugar rose from 1.5 million tonnes in 2012 to two million tonnes in 2013.

    Besides, sugar smuggling was virtually non-existent as refinery capacity utilisation rose from 60 per cent to 75 per cent.

    The document attributes the successes to the National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) launched in January, 2013.  The NSMP, which has a 10-year implementation period, aims to produce 1.79 million tonnes of sugar; 161.2 million litres of ethanol and 411.7 MW annually.

    The document said that the proposed $2billion investment in projects across six states by the Dangote Group will produce between one million tonnes and 1.5 million tonnes of sugar annually.

    It further pointed that Kenana Technical Services has substantially expanded its Savannah Sugar at Numan, Adamawa, from 6,500 hectares to 21,000 hectares by 2018 to produce 100,000 tonnes annually.

    “FMNL/GSR through its Adeco Agric Group is to produce 60,000 tonnes of sugar annually from its 13,500 hectares arm in Sunti, Niger State, by 2018.

    “Also, HoneyGold Group through its subsidiary, Costas Negocios, is to invest $300 million on two sites in Adamawa State to produce 200,000 tonnes sugar annually,’’ it said.

    According to the document, Crystal Sugar Mills has announced plans to invest 30 million dollars in expansion of its operations to produce 60,000 tonnes per annum by 2018.

    An elated Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council, Dr. Latif Busari said going by the  rate of the growth been recorded, the nation’s sugar production level would hit about 1.79 million tonnes by 2020, higher than the 1.5 million tonnes consumed annually.

    Ten months after the implementations of the NSMP, Aganga announced that the country has attracted $3billion (about N480billion) investment into the sugar sector.

    He said that the country is targeting production of 1.7 metric tonnes of sugar per annum.

    “NSMP has stimulated investments of $3bn thus far. NSMP is targeting the production of 1.7 metric tonnes of sugar; creation of 117,181 direct jobs; generation of 411.7MW of electricity; total forex saving of up to $565.8 million annually from savings from sugar production and fuel importation.

    Recently, the Federal Government announced plans to provide N2 billion Agricultural and Infrastructure Support Fund for investors in the sugar industry.

    Aganga disclosed this during the quarterly meeting with the directors general and chief executive officers of agencies under the ministry in Abuja.

    He said: “The National Sugar Development Council, a parastatal under my ministry, is providing N1 billion from the sugar levy while the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) will provide a matching fund of additional N1 billion as intervention fund to assist investors and farmers who are investing in the sugar-cane to sugar programme, which is an integral part of the backward integration programme in the sugar sector.

    “The fund, which will be disbursed at a single digit interest rate, is part of our on-going efforts towards providing an enabling environment for Nigerians the BoA will provide a matching fund of additional N1 billion as intervention fund to assist investors and farmers who are investing in the sugar-cane to sugar programme, which is an integral part of the backward integration programme in the sugar sector.”

  • Nigeria to get new drug control master plan

    Nigeria to get new drug control master plan

    Nigeria will get a new National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP) in September.

    That is when President Goodluck Jonathan will endorse the final draft, which will soon be sent to the Presidency.

    The implementation of the proposed master plan is expected to begin next year and lapse in 2019.

    The policy document, which provides a road map for the nation’s anti-narcotic campaign, is a product of elaborate deliberations and consultations among Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), departments, agencies and experts, led by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

    NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Ahmadu Giade hailed members of the committee for their diligence.

    He called for more support for drug control programmes.

    Giade said: “I am pleased with the commitment of the committee members and the rich content of the draft plan.

    “The agency shall work with relevant organisations for the full implementation of the plan. We incorporated ministries, organisations and agencies because everyone has a role to play in the control of drugs.”

    The NDLEA thanked the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union (EU) for their technical assistance to Nigeria’s fight against drug production, trafficking and use, including organised crimes.

    NDLEA’s Director-General, Mrs. Roli Bode-George, presided over the meeting of senior representatives from 30 ministries, departments and agencies. It ended at the weekend in Lagos.

    The meeting tackled the formulation of a master plan that would run for four years, beginning in 2015.

  • Enforcement of master plan begins today

    THE enforcement of the new transport policy takes off in Lagos State today. Under the policy tagged: “Lagos State Strategic Master plan,” only vehicles with the Lagos State number-plate will be permitted to operate as commercial passenger vehicles.

    Also, drivers and conductors yet to be fully registered with the state would be apprehended and prosecuted.

    The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa  said the policy is to ensure sanity in commercial vehicle operations and improve passengers’ safety.

    He warned that other vehicles that  failed to comply would be apprehended found on Lagos roads.

    Government earlier set the deadline for the commencement of the master plan for January 1, but shifted it more than twice due to low compliance and pressure from critical stakeholders, especially members of the transport unions.

    Opeifa said: “To ensure easy identification and a corporate outlook for all transport operators, the state government and the various transport unions agreed and approved a uniform.

    “The take-off of this component of the policy as well as that of the development of a data base for the state’s public transport system has been affected due to the low level of compliance.”

    The commissioner disclosed that going by available data, while 24,257 commercial vehicles, 28, 902 drivers, 591 conductors and 7,637 taxis exist in the state, only 12,000 drivers have so far registered with the state government.

    He pointed out that the ongoing registration exercise has been free without any charge, but that with effect from July 1, operators who are yet to be captured in the exercise will now pay the stipulated price of N20,000 for commercial passengers vehicle owner, N5,000 for drivers and N2,000 for conductors.

    Opeifa urged transport unions that have complied to feel free to go about their normal business activities at the commencement of the full enforcement.

    The commissioner explained that with effect from that date, all commercial vehicles must use the state colour scheme for danfo and molues with the black stripes, new uniform and badges for drivers and conductors.

    He added that each commercial vehicle will be fitted with designated route numbers, names of drivers and conductors as well as phone numbers of Traffic Radio to enable passengers make calls and report any yellow bus seen to be causing obstruction on the highways.

    According to him, the development will enable the state government to nab the operator and invite them for interrogation and for necessary correction in order to restore sanity to Lagos roads.

  • How Kano master plan was bastardised

    How Kano master plan was bastardised

    Managing Director of Kano State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KNUPDA) Alhaji Isyaku Mukhtar Kura is a United Kingdom-trained urban planner. In this interview with KOLADE ADEYEMI, Kura, whose agency recently bagged the National Productivity Award, speaks on how the Kano State master plan was bastardised, the construction of multi-billion naira cities, the N32 billion mega-roads and other sundry issues. Excerpts:

    KNUPDA has bagged National Productivity Order of Merit Award. How did you achieve the feat?

    I think it is because of the facelift that we have given Kano in term of infrastructures. A lot of things have changed in Kano State in terms of infrastructures when compared to what we had on the ground two years ago. If you recall before 2012 there were serious decay of infrastructures in the state especially as it concerned roads and drainage. Before 2012, because of lack of drainage, there were cases of flood that killed a lot of people and destroyed many houses, but we thank God from 2012 to date these have been reduced to the barest minimum.

    KNUPDA has been so much involved in the provision of some of these infrastructures, especially roads and drainages. We are also seeing to our main function, which is planning. When we came in, we realised that the Government Reserved Area (GRA) in Nasarawa area of the state is no more a GRA; it was just like any other part of the city. All those large land that beautifies the area has been subdivided and allotted to individuals for residential buildings. It was against this background that the Governor told us that we should create new cities for the low and high income earners.

    Following his directive, we then created three cities: Kwankwasiya along Zaria road, Amana on its opposite and the Bandirawo on the other part of the state. All these are big towns, which we have created to serve the people of the state. Initially, we only created the area, but the governor afterwards asked us to go into building and now some of the houses in these cities have been completed.

    In the cities, Kwankwasiya especially, we provided many infrastructures including drainages, roads and a bridge that linked the city with other areas. In Kwankwasiya city, we have 5 bed-room and 4 bed-room flats that have been completed and people have started to apply for their purchase. Though, the building of the houses is not my area, but what I’m trying to arrive at is that we have selected, design and planned the new cities.

    In our efforts to give pedestrians unhindered access road, we have interlocked all the major roads in the metropolis. We are doing the interlocking because in planning if you talk about motorists, you must also talk about other categories of road users. To this end, we have interlocked 65 roads in the city and the contracts for the remaining roads have been awarded. We have also considered the contractors that were left by the previous administration. I think these are some of the things that earned us the National Productivity Order of Merit Award.

    How many structures do you have in the three cities?

    Well, as I said earlier we are building the cities to open up other areas and by so doing decongest the main Kano city. I cannot tell you the exact number of houses we are building in these three cities because it’s under the supervision of the Housing Corporation of Kano State. We have about 500 plots there altogether. The Kwankwasiya city is a GRA while the two others are mixture which we are buildings for low, medium and high income earners.

    We have seen ongoing works on inter-locking streets within the metropolis. How much have you spent on the project?

    We have spent over N650 million on the interlocking project. We are doing it not only for beautification, but as I said earlier, to provide roads for pedestrians.

    What have you been doing to review Kano’s master-plan which has been bastardized by indiscriminate buildings?

    Yes, we have been doing a lot to bring Kano’s master-plan back to base. In fact, this is one of the strong-points of Governor Kwankwaso’s administration. Remember that we had three or so, we had one in 1963 and we had the revised edition of 2003, but unfortunately they did not follow it to the letter. The master plans were not implemented, but this time around, we are reviewing it. From all indications, the government is committed to it. The World Bank has sent representatives to contribute not financially, but in the technical aspect of it. So we are reviewing our master plan and we are going to implement it fully for the interest of all.

    What are you doing to tackle flood which has grossly affected some roads within the metropolis?

    As I said earlier that if you were here before 2011, you will appreciate what we have done so far because before then there were many cases of deaths caused by flooding and houses were also destroyed. The flood you are talking about was caused as a result of heavy downpour, but we have succeeded to a very large extent, in addressing the problem of lack or blocked drainages. Now if there is rain in less than an hour it will flow away unlike what was obtainable before our coming into power.

    How do you want Kano State to look like in terms of planning and infrastructures by 2015?

    Honestly, we want it to be like Mecca and Medina or to be modest; we want it to look like Dubai. In these two years of our administration, there have been a lot of changes and it’s still going on. If you want to appreciate what we are doing come to Kano at night from either Abuja or Lagos by air and see what is happening. You’ll see light everywhere, which can only be compared with what is obtainable in either Abuja or Lagos. So we want to see a city that is accommodating more people, providing more jobs and maintaining its beauty. You can see now the traffic in the state is moving now.