■ As El-Rufai gathers eggheads to chart way forward
From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Prior to his gubernatorial victory at the polls in 2015, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai consistently assured the electorate that he would make Kaduna State great again if elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The state that used to be investors’ haven in the 60s to late 90s, was deserted by the same investors.
This was largely due to crises, ranging from religious to ethno-political rivalry that shook the state to its very foundation from late 90s to early 2000s. Consequently, prospective business investors were scared away, just as the former investors closed shops permanently. For, instance, the over 10 textile industries, among other manufacturing companies that engaged thousands of workers remained comatose till date.
To address this, the governor in April 2016 organised the maiden edition of Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KADINVEST 1.0), with the theme; “Let’s Move Kaduna into the Global Economy.” Its aftermath attracted 25 investors who indicated interest and even acquired land to do business in Kaduna. They included the $10million Dangote Tomatoes Production Plant in Kaduna, $150million Olam Animal, Poultry and Hatchery Factory, located in Chikun and the $120million Vicampro Potatoes Farm and Processing facility in Manchok. The investors acquired 150,000 hectares of land expected to generate 335,000 jobs.
The second edition of the summit, KADINVEST 2.0, was held from Wednesday, April 5 to Thursday, April 6, 2017. The theme was “Making Kaduna the Investment Destination of Choice.” Participants included the EU, US, local and international investors. Governors of Kano State, Umar Ganduje, Zamfara State, AbdualazeezYari, deputy Governor of Jigawa State, Ibrahim Hassan Hadeja, ministers of Trade and Investment and Budget also graced the occasion.
Keynote address was delivered by the Emir of Kano, Muhamma Sanusi Lamido 11, on the theme, “Promoting Business in the Midst of Economic Challenges.” Sanusi noted that economic growth model for states and Federal Government needed to change from being driven by rising commodity prices and borrowing:
“Today, Nigeria is spending 66 percent of its revenue on interest on debts. Which means only 34 percent of revenue is available for capital expenditure, recurrent expenditure and for development. That model cannot work. Increased borrowing has reached a logical limit.
“Government should encourage private investors to build infrastructure such as roads, rails, power, etc that are profitable. Nigerians investors like Aliko Dangote should be encouraged to invest in Nigeria. Northern governments need to conserve their resources for those areas where governments have failed in the last few decades; I urge them to invest in education. We need to invest in healthcare.”
National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, commended El-Rufai for developing capacity of youths through various skill acquisition and training on ICT(KADSTEP, KADAT, KADEEA, ICT training in Kaduna ICT Hub etc).
This was even as the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar 111, called on Nigerians to vote out politicians that failed to deliver on their promises to the people, just as he reminded politicians to face the task of governance and development rather than beginning to look for votes ahead of 2019.
El-Rufai reviewed progress made since 2016 Kadinvest: “KDSG completed many capital projects and doing more to stimulate the economy.” He presented way forward for Kaduna and how to get there through State Development Plan 2020, even as he launched, Ease of Doing Business Charter:
“This outlines Kaduna state commitment to easing business licensing, permit, approvals and processing across all MDAs. It binds Kaduna state legally to keep its commitment and assures investors of expected outcome. It shows the numbers of days requires for every business processing and the requirements and expected outcome by which the government can be held accountable by investors.
“The plan identifies about 300 projects. It is born out of the need to link the state’s Development plans with actual needs of the people. Major objective of the master plan is to create conducive environment for public/private participation in infrastructure project development.”
There was also the launch of Kaduna Sector Implementation Plan (SIP): “It was developed by MDAs to provide basis for linking the State Development Plan with annual budget and featured MDAs programmes and projects earmarked for implementation during the planned period and within the determined overall resources envelop of the SDP.”
Major highlights of KADINVEST 2.0 was that USAID signed a three-year MoU with Kaduna State Government which outlines the shared and individual commitments to help drive economic development collaboration between USAID/Nigeria and the Kaduna State Government.
These included strengthening the agriculture sector through increased agricultural productivity of selected value chains, expanded market participation, increased access to finance and an improved business enabling environment, Developing the capability of Kaduna State Government to manage water and sanitation resource and Increasing access to and availability of power in Kaduna State.
The “Eyes and Ears’ Platform” is designed to encourage citizens’ participation in governance. It is a major towards deploying technology to democratise and broaden access to data and information on government projects. The platform is a phone based application that is available on apple store which provides online real-time data on projects locations and progresses as well as how contractors are faring on handling projects.
Information sent through the application goes directly to a dashboard in the office of the governor, deputy governor, the speaker state House of Assembly and the Ministry of Budget and Planning. The state government has used the application to blacklist non performing contractors doing poor jobs in the state and also refer some to EFCC for necessary actions.
Some projects were also commissioned. They included Veterinary Doctors Quarters at Olams Poultry and Feed Mill, Kaduna ICT Hub meant to provide ICT skills and training to 5000 youths annually and Solar Power Project at Badarawa Primary Healthcare Centre. Equally commissioned was the Phase I Mass Housing Project at Millennium City.