The Minister of National Planning, Dr Abubakar Suleiman, has urged state governments to redouble their commitments to the full implementation of States Integrated Infrastructure Master Plans (SIIMPs).
Suleiman gave the advice in Abuja while meeting with Commissioners of Economic Planning and Chief Executives of states Planning Commissions on the development and implementation of the plan.
He said the SIIMP was developed to improve the living standards of people in the country.
“ SIIMP as an extension of National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) is designed to give Nigerians improved infrastructure services accelerated economic growth and better standard of living.
“The development and implementation of SIIMP in our various states will help the nation to have a unified drive in all sectors of our infrastructure development,’’ the minister said.
According to him, the states are and federal governments are expected to establish infrastructure delivery units within relevant ministries, departments and agencies to drive implementation of the master plan.
“Governments should develop priority of infrastructure projects and identify other sources of funding for infrastructure development such as bonds, loans and others.
“They are also expected to establish a legal framework and streamline bureaucracy to attract private sector investment and build a strong synergy for infrastructure development,’’ Suleman said.
He expressed optimism that the decisions, recommendations and steps taken at the meeting would help in closing infrastructure gap in the country.
The Secretary, National Planning Commission, Mr Fidelis Ugbo, said the commission would commence the process of implementing the national infrastructure master plan beginning from 2015 budget.
Expert Identifies Reason For Money Market Rates Increase
Executive Secretary, Financial Market Dealers Association (FMDA), Mr. Wale Abe has attributed the upward trends in the money market rates to the volatilities in the Nigerian capital market.
Volatility is a measure for variation of price of a financial instrument over time. It is a measure of risk based on the standard deviation of the asset return.
It is a measure of security’s stability calculated as the standard deviation from a certain contnuously compounded return over a given period of time.
Abe told The Tide source in Lagos that the volatilities were because of the socio-political uncertainties and national security challenges.
He said the uncertainties had led to investment lethargy as noticed in the sustained dropping of the All Share Index (ASI).
ASI shows the movement in the price of stocks of companies on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE).
Abe said that the volatilities in the capital market had made foreign investors to pull out their investments following low yields from the listed equities.
He also said that the development had made the stock market to remain unattractive to both domestic and foreign investors.
The executive secretary added that the downward movement in the price of listed equities could be traced to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) induced liquidity through its tight monetary policy.
Abe said that the sustained fall in ASI was a threat that would make the nation’s portfolio investment climate unattractive.
He added that short term investors in the capital market preferred to put their money in the money market because of artificial returns noticeable in the money market.
Abe also said that the sustainability of the upward trend in the money market could only be retained by the law of demand and supply.
He added that the force of the law of demand and supply in the ideal and real market made it not possible for the rates to be manipulated.
“The net yield of treasury is higher than that of the stock market.
“The two markets differ, especially because of the tax deduction in the stock market therefore making the short-term investors to be attracted to the money market.
“The higher the interest rates in money market, the lower the interest rate in the stock market,” he said.