The Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA) has concluded it annual retreat with a called on the Federal Government to immediately establish an Office to coordinate Public Private Partnership activity in the country.
The Chamber also wants a national legislation enacted to back up all agreements entered into by all tiers of government that have to do with public Private Partnership.
This observation was contained in a communiqué of the retreat read by Umar Farouk Rabiu, President of the Chamber, to Journalists at the Corporate Secretariat in the commercial city of Kano, on Tuesday.
According to the Chamber, the establishment of an Office to coordinate PPP activity would go a long way in demonstrating to the world that Nigeria is ready to attract private investments through the economic development model.
“Governments at all levels should embrace an effective public-private partnership (PPP) with the private sector and public-private community (PPC) ventures and program for Economic Growth and National Development.
“To demonstrate its commitment, the government should establish a PPP Office, backed by relevant legislation by the second quarter of 2017” the President of Chamber stated.
In the same vein, the Chamber asked the Buhari led the government to as a matter of urgency constitutes a strong National Economic Team with heavy representations from the private sector, professional, academia, diplomats.
Rabiu disclosed that while the Chamber observed the efforts of the government to roll out fiscal and monetary policies to mitigate the impacts of the on -going national economic recession on the business, and citizens, the business environment has remained very difficult.
As an addressing the national economic challenge, the President said that the Chamber urged the government to acquaint itself with other sources of long –term, concessionary finance that will enable the state and local government councils across the country finance commercially viable social projects.
“Being able to tap into cheap concessionary finance would help the government free up funds generated from federal allocations, and grants, for more socially –oriented expenditures, such as schools, as well as hospital development.
“Exploring other sources of funding the budget will reduce the pressure on public expenditure and reduce the desire to tax its citizens indiscriminately.
“Coming home, while we commend the quest by the Kano State Government to broaden its resource horizon by enhancing its Internally Generated Revenue, we want the approach to carry- out with professionalism and civility, It will be counter-productive to adopt chaotic and indiscriminate method” the chamber pointed out.
Also, the chamber called on the government to ensure that engage with stakeholders, including organized private sector, civil society in the design and implementation of major infrastructural projects directed at having far reaching socio-economic impacts on the citizenry.
