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Debt profile: Cardoso preaches transparency, interagency collaboration to foster investors’ confidence
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso has preached transparency, interagency collaboration to foster investor’s confidence in the country.
Cardoso made this known while making comments on Nigeria’s debt management.
The CBN Governor advocated for constant declaration of the nation’s ABPs and debt portfolios as part of deliberate efforts to making the sub-sector transparent.
He said, “Moreover, it is vital to make the disclosure of our debt portfolios and borrowing activities routine. This transparency builds trust with investors, creditors, and the public, creating a virtuous cycle that reduces borrowing costs and promotes efficient debt management.
“Developing and implementing a robust Annual Borrowing Plan (ABP) offers numerous benefits. A well-articulated ABP communicates the government’s borrowing intentions to domestic and international markets enhancing predictability and fostering investor confidence. This, in turn, attracts a broader pool of investors and can lead to more favorable borrowing terms.
“Additionally, the ABP facilitates proactive risk management by identifying potential vulnerabilities, such as refinancing risks or exposure to specific currencies or interest rate movements, allowing debt managers to take preemptive measures to mitigate these risks.”
Speaking on the importance of collaboration, Cardoso noted that a collaboration would ensure proper coordination with a view to seeing that borrowings fit into the nation’s macro-economic framework and objectives.
The Governor who was represented by the Ag. Director of Policy of the CBN, Dr. Ladi Bala-Keffi, at the Regional Workshop on ABP Development, in Abuja, said that inter-agency synergy was key to efficient borrowing by the government.
His words: “The development of the ABP requires close collaboration among various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, and debt management agencies.
“This collaborative process strengthens coordination, enhances coherent decision-making, and avoids ad hoc borrowing operations, ensuring that borrowing activities align with broader macroeconomic objectives.
“Furthermore, the ABP promotes responsible debt management practices by aligning borrowing activities with the Medium-Term Debt Strategy (MTDS) and fiscal policies. This alignment contributes to long-term debt Sustainability, reducing the likelihood of debt distress and its adverse economic consequences.”
Speaking further, Cardoso said that no government agency in any country could develop strategies for ABP and Debt Management Strategies without involving others.
“Formulating robust Debt Management Strategies (DMS) and Annual Borrowing Plans (ABP) cannot be done in isolation.
“It requires a comprehensive approach involving a well-coordinated institutional framework for public debt management and a stable macroeconomic environment.
“Strengthening the budgetary process and accounting systems to enhance transparency and accountability is also essential,” he said.
In his address, the Director-General of WAIFEM, Dr. Baba Musa said that the workshop was a milestone to WAIFEM,
In recognition of the critical importance of Annual Borrowing Plan (ABP) development to member countries.
He said, “We proudly offer this course as a stand-alone for the first time. The usual practice has been to embed it in the broader medium-term debt strategies (MTDS) training.
“Still, we believe that a dedicated focus will allow us to explore the complexities and nuances of (ABP) Development better, further enhancing Our debt managers’ expertise in the use of ABP Analytical Tool.”
The D-G noted that public debt has recently surged worldwide due to various factors, notably the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and other economic shocks.
“This trend,” he said, “is mirrored in our sub-region, where debt managers grapple with unique challenges, including volatile commodity prices, elevated debt levels, limited fiscal space, fluctuating exchange rates, and rising borrowing costs.”
“These challenges pose significant threats to debt sustainability, macroeconomic stability, growth prospects, and, ultimately, the well-being of the citizens. In this context, sound public debt management strategies and well-articulated borrowing plans are more critical than ever.
“While our member countries diligently formulate and update Medium-Term Debt Strategies (MTDS), the practical implementation often presents considerable challenges.”
According to the WAIFEM boss, the one-week training would provide a holistic understanding of the role of ABP in public debt management; examine the foundational requirements for effective ABP development, particularly the need for robust data, institutional collaboration, and sound analytical frameworks.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation has announced the suspension of services between Delta and Kogi due to the unsatisfactory nature of the track conditions from Ujevwu in Delta State to Itakpe in Kogi State.
This was disclosed in a notice titled “Public Announcement” which was sent to customers, indicating that the agency plans to resume operations on Monday, July 8, 2024.
The suspension, effective from Friday, was attributed to an obstruction on the track.
“This is to officially notify our esteemed passengers that the Warri-Itakpe Train will not run today Friday, 5th July 2024 due to the obstruction we have on our track.
“We shall resume our normal train services on Monday 8th July 2024. Passengers who already booked their tickets online will be refunded.
“All inconveniences are highly regretted. Thank you,” the statement added.
Ogun State Head of Service, Mr. Kehinde Onasanya has said that the State is leading other states of the Federation in Ease of Doing Business, owing to the provision of requisite infrastructural facilities through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in the State.
Onasanya made this known while delivering a keynote address at the launch of a book titled “Practical Guide to Public Private Partnership Arrangement in Nigeria” authored by Pastor Adebisi Sogunle and held at the Waterfalls Events Centre, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to him, since the State passed the PPP law in 2019, the initiative has facilitated projects with road networks rehabilitated and expanded as well as reconstruction of the Ijebu-Ode-Epe Expressway among others.
He explained that the collaborative agreement between the public and private sectors was predicated on the strengths of both sectors to achieve outcomes that neither could effectively accomplish alone.
“Under the visionary leadership of His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun, Ogun State has harnessed the potential of PPP to drive significant developments and give Ogun State focused and qualitative governance and as well create the necessary enabling environment for a public private sector partnership.
“This is fundamental to the creation of an enduring economic development and individual prosperity of the people of Ogun. Let me, therefore, highlight some of the notable projects of the State Government and their impacts through PPP:
“The Ogun State Agro Cargo Airport: Developed in partnership with the private sector, the Agro Cargo Airport is designed to facilitate the export of agricultural products, thereby boosting the agro-industrial sector.
ii.Ogun State Housing Development Projects: Several housing projects, including the Prince Court Estate, have been developed through PPP arrangements to address the housing deficit.
iii.Ogun State Energy Generation Projects: Lisabi Mini Power was developed in partnership with the private sector to generate 4.5mw Power for transmission and distribution within the State to Government core areas.
“Other projects of the State Government in the pipeline through PPPs include the Olokola Deep Sea Port, Sagamu Trailer Park, Sagamu Stadium, Hillcrest Estate, PMB Estate, Lomiro Oil Palm, OGSG Pharmaceuticals, OGSG Forestry project, Gateway Hotel Ota, Inland Dry Port at Kajola/Papalanto, amongst others,” the HoS said.
While congratulating the author of the book for his contributions to the discourse on PPP, Onasanya said the valuable resource will no doubt guide policy makers, practitioners and investors in navigating the complexities of PPP arrangements in Nigeria and urged public servants as well as private sector partners to key into the messages of the book and apply its lessons in their endeavours.
On his part, the former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the book is timely because government alone cannot maintain all its assets, which requires the PPP arrangements, saying the arrangement paved the way for some major road infrastructure with particular reference to Ogun State and commended the Ogun State Government for keying into the initiative, which has created more job opportunities for the people.
Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the event, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Dr. Chris Iziguzor said the PPP initiative has assisted Ogun State in achieving much in the area of infrastructural development and added that the arrangement, in turn, brought in more investors and provided job opportunities for the citizens.
In his response, the author, Pst. Adebisi Sogunle, while appreciating all guests for the support he got, said he wrote the book based on the experience he garnered while working on a PPP arranged programme in Cross River State.
He said the book will help in examining the roles of stakeholders because they have the responsibility to maintain the environment when political, economic, and administrative concerns arise while partnering.
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Reverse 40 per cent import fees on LPG to encourage local manufacturers – Techno Oil boss urges FG
Mrs Nkechi Obi, Group Managing Director (GMD), Techno Oil Limited has urged the Federal Government if Nigeria to reverse its policies on the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders.
Obi made her displeasure known during a panel session at the 2024 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) conference in Abuja.
Speaking, Obi pleaded with the government to reverse the zero import duties placed on the importation of LPG cylinders and restore the initial 40 per cent import duties, to discourage importation.
“We need policy reversal on that to encourage local producers. The unofficial explanation we are getting from some customs officers is that the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) which the government wants to encourage its usage in Nigeria, has the same Harmonised System (HS) code with LPG.”
“So, the import benefits placed on CNG equipment eventually affected LPG equipment; that is why they were tied together on the zero import duties.”
“Harmonised System codes are commonly used throughout the import and export process for the classification of goods.”
“For me, we don’t produce CNG cylinders in Nigeria because it involves advanced technology but we produce LPG cylinders here.”
“For us to produce CNG cylinders, we have to change one or two machines, and we expect the government to encourage us to upscale our technology to 32, which we are planning to do.” She lamented.
Obi also called on the Federal Government to separate LPG HS code from that of CNG, to ensure that importers of LPG pay higher import duties, and to also enable the government to continue with its efforts to make CNG affordable in the country with zero import duties.
“The previous government protected those producing cylinders, so that import will not overshadow local production; they did that to encourage local manufacturing but when this government came into existence, policy changed.”
“We only enjoyed that policy for six months before it was scrapped and replaced with the new “zero import duties” policy.”
“Definitely, we have to produce CNG cylinders and the government needs to consider those that will go into that production. But if government policy is killing LPG cylinder production that we are doing, it will be very difficult to enter into CNG cylinder production.”
“So, if there is anybody who can venture into CNG cylinder production, we the producers of LPG cylinders are here to do that and it is in our plan.”
“But we are not encouraged to do it because of what happened to us in the LPG cylinder production because of the frustrating policy that is encouraging its importation,” Obi added.
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