The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has lamented the worsening security situation in the country, which was threatening agricultural production, manufacturing value chains and logistics.
President of the chamber, Michael Olawale-Cole, made the remark during his address on the state of the economy, yesterday, where he forecasted that in the third quarter, many factors will weigh on the growth of the economy such as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rate hike as well as the rate hikes by other central banks around the world.
Olawale-Cole noted that the rising energy costs with diesel above N800/litre, Jet-A1 at N710 per litre and PMS selling above the government-regulated price of N165/litre, will continue to aggravate production costs which may lead to restrained manufacturing and eventual job losses.
“The worsening security situation in many parts of the country will continue to threaten agricultural production, manufacturing value chains and logistics.”
The LCCI boss also noted that the chamber expects some fiscal constraints because of debt overhang accompanied by a high debt service burden and heavy subsidy costs.
“There are therefore heightened fears of contracting output, constrained production and recession risks as we navigate the murky waters of 2022.”
To sustain the pace of recovery, the chamber recommended well-coordinated fiscal and monetary policies in promoting growth-enhancing and confidence-building policies that would encourage private and foreign capital inflows into the economy.
He pointed out that to ensure food security, agriculture output should be sustainably boosted and continued dependence on imports discouraged.
“For food security, scarcity is looming large on the horizon and if nothing smart and quick is done, it would further exacerbate the plight of the poor.
“Fuel subsidies should be removed and oil theft curtailed if not eliminated to provide fiscal space for subsidised production of goods and services as well as for infrastructure, health and education financing.
“The Human Development Index (HDI) of Nigeria, which is the index used by the United Nations to measure real development in a country, was 0.539 points in 2019, leaving it in 161st place in the table of 189 countries last published.
While the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) embarks on monetary tightening to tame inflation, it should ensure that targeted concessionary credit to the private sector is sustained for MSMEs.
“The CBN needs to initiate a gradual transition to a unified exchange rate system and allow for a market reflective exchange rate. The CBN also needs to roll out more friendly supply-side policies to boost productive sectors, bolster investor confidence and help attract foreign investment inflows into the economy.
Olawale-Cole emphasised on the need to address structural bottlenecks and regulatory constraints that contribute to the high cost of doing business, adding that a supportive and conducive investment environment was critical in facilitating private sector involvement in the economic recovery and growth process.
He also advised that government should initiate moves towards having cost-reflective tariffs in the power sector as this will attract the needed investment to boost power supply and possibly end the frequent crashes of the national grid.
“We should also begin to initiate special-purpose interventions in boosting the deployment of renewable energy.”