Manufacturers under the aegis of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) have appealed to the Lagos State Government, to review downward, the Environmental Development levy and the petroleum storage permit payable to the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
According to them, LASEPA recently increased the Environmental Development levy by 150 percent, adding that the yearly review of the Environmental Audit Report by LASEPA as against the 3-yearly review of same document by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has imposed huge cost on manufacturers.
Speaking at the MAN Ikeja branch 2018 breakfast meeting for managing director and CEOs held on Thursday in Lagos, Frank Jacobs, president of MAN, said that manufacturers were facing numerous challenges that cut across dearth of supporting infrastructure, over regulation and payment of multiple taxations.
Jacobs, who commended the Lagos State Government for their efforts towards helping manufacturers out of the challenges facing their businesses, said that members of MAN have also complained that the state government has failed to implement the agreement on inspection of factories and work places.
“Manufacturers in Lagos have been challenged by the introduction of some tax heads and increment in taxes/levies without consultation with stakeholders, who are expected to pay. Recently, the state signed into law the Land Use Charge 2018, which reviewed upward payment of land use charge. This has further compounded the woes of manufacturers who are at the verge of collapse on the weight of high operating cost,” Jacobs, who was represented by Issac Agoye, vice president, Lagos Zone and National Treasurer, added.
Paul Usoro, guest speaker, who presented a paper on Federal Government Policies on Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria,’ listed issues such as insufficient power supply; high cost of foreign exchange, unpredictability of government policies and difficulties in raising capitals for starting business as major setback to the manufacturers businesses.
According to Usoro, some policies of the Central Bank have frozen the lending abilities of commercial banks and also make credit facilities very costly for businesses. These issues, he said, constitute serious economic instability that affects manufacturers negatively.
“Apart from the duplication of functions by government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), there is issue around the multiplicity of government agencies present at the seaports, and this not only delays cargo clearance but has huge cost implication on businesses,” Usoro said.
Reacting to this, Governor Akinwumi Ambode, who described members of MAN as partners to the progress made so far by the state, promised to look into the submissions of MAN in order to create a win-win situation for both parties as well as create an enabling environment for businesses to grow.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
