By Merit Ibe
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has lamented that local manufacturers are still facing multiple/over-regulation from government agencies which is currently depressing productivity in the manufacturing sector.
These multiple taxes and levies according to MAN’s survey have severely depressed production in the sector.
According to the report, many manufacturers operating in the industrial sector are still groaning under growing levies being charged by government agencies.
The report revealed that currently, the SMEs are losing some percentages of their total income yearly to multiple agencies, which runs into billions of Naira.
MAN President, Mansur Ahmed, in an interview in Lagos disclosed that despite government’s commitment to the revival of the country’s industrial sector to attain optimum growth, it is shocking that agencies of government are frustrating manufacturers from making headway and achieving sustainable productivity.
The MAN president explained that often times these agencies of the federal, state and local authorities regulate the same manufacturing process resulting in man-hour losses, supervisory duplication using similar checklist and multiple regulatory charges which often culminate in increased overheads for manufacturers.
According to him, it has been very challenging for local manufacturers operating in the country with many of them facing headwinds to overcome the economic turmoil in the business environment.
While speaking on the operating environment performance regulation, Ahmed said: “Our survey we conducted shows that majority of respondents (92 per cent) agreed that multiple/over-regulation by agencies of government depresses productivity in the manufacturing sector. Often times agencies of the federal, state and local authorities regulate the same manufacturing process resulting in man-hour losses, supervisory duplication using similar checklist and multiple regulatory charges which often culminates in increased overheads for manufacturers.”