Business
Korea To Train Nigerian Officials On e-Govt In 2016
The Korean International
Cooperation Agency (KOICA), said it would start the second phase of its capacity building on e-government for Nigerian officials in January 2016.
Project Manager, e-government Master Plan, Mr Kuk Hwan Jeong, said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja, recently.
Jeong, who spoke on the side line of an evaluation workshop on the pilot phase of the e-government capacity building training, said 112 government officials were trained during its pilot phase.
“We are planning to resume the training in January. In the last three weeks we trained 112 officials for the pilot phase which was more than the initial 105 people.
“Their attendance was very impressive, with almost everybody attending daily.
“We are getting a lot of enthusiasm and positive feedback from those who participated in the programme.
“This sort of feedback is a very good way of getting Nigeria ahead on e-government; it is what motivates the e-government initiative and what we found out at this evaluation workshop is that the future of e-government in Nigeria is very bright.”
He added that several e-government training programmes put together by some ministries, departments and agencies would facilitate the involvement of necessary stakeholders in the process.
Jeong, however, urged trainees to enhance the cooperation and develop methods to implement the e-government master plan.
He also said there was a need for government, at all levels, to put in place necessary instruments that would drive the e-government initiative in Nigeria.
“Now what should be done is that those who have been trained should cooperate on ways to influence policy making decisions and implement the e-government initiative as defined by the master plan.
“What would be needed to successfully manage the e-government initiative are money, people and technology, also law and institutions and IT governance.
“The most challenging in this country is how to mobilise resource, not just financial but manpower.
“These two areas should be ready for e-government to be successfully implemented in the country,” he explained.
Also in his address, Mr Jung Sang-hoon, KOICA Country Director, reiterated the need for all partner organisations to enhance cooperation in promoting the initiative in Nigeria.
Jung said that the workshop was aimed at “improving and refining the pilot training programme.
“We organised this workshop to criticise and know the intensity of our efforts and also look at areas in which we can improve.
He also emphasised on the need for policy makers to be effectively involved in the e-government process.
The KOICA e-government project is expected to train 22, 625 Nigerian civil servants from 2015 to 2018 to reinforce their practical e-government capacity.
The South Korean Government, through KOICA, is investing a total of 8.56 million dollars on Capacity Building of e-Government in Nigeria between 2013 and 2018.
Partner organisations in the project include the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Public Service Institute of Nigeria and National Information Technology Development Agency.
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
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