Organised private sector asks FG to focus on boosting ERGP

The organised private sector (OPS), has urged the federal government to remain focused on implementing the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), in efforts to restore economic growth and expand the tax net to improve revenue generation rather than focusing on tax increases that have remained burdensome to businesses.

OPS, under the platform of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), noted that, “Beyond the rhetoric of improved Ease of Doing Business (EODB) rating, we expect that greater effort would be made to reign in the excesses of some regulatory authorities, whose actions tend to stifle businesses, invariably increasing the unemployment rate.

 The Director-General of NECA, Timothy Olawale, explained that the private sector should be aggressively supported to create jobs through business-friendly policies and regulation.

On the Budget 2020, he called for full and timely implementation of the budget and early release of funds to stimulate the economy

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 According to him, monitoring mechanisms should be institutionalised to gauge how well the budget is implemented, adding that “special focus should be given to infrastructural development as enshrined in the 2020 budget, as this is the foundation for national development.”

Speaking further on employers’ expectations for the New Year, reviewed the performance of 2019, he said the economy struggled with a growth rate average of two per cent in the first three quarters of 2019; inflation was in double-digits, which was orchestrated mainly by increasing food inflation as a result of the closure of land borders in order to curb smuggling.

He, however, urged that government at all levels should see the private sector as an engine of development, and a worthy partner in the realisation of the Nigerian dream.