MAN laments low business patronage

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The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has expressed displeasure over continuous low patronage being witnessed across the country.

The Association attributed the lull in business to the low disposable income available to the generality of the populace, which has affected their businesses.

President of MAN, Mr. Frank Jacob, said although the nation might have come out of recession, the manufacturing sector had not done very well to reflect that the country had exited recession.

“We are technically out of recession but the manufacturing sector has not performed very well to show the nation is out of recession. The 3rd and 4th quarters of 2017 did not show any significant growth or improvement in the manufacturing sector; although there appeared to be a slight improvement in the first quarter of 2018 as measured by the Purchasing Managers’ Index.”

Jacob also disclosed that the 2018 budget that had not been passed was a major contributory factor to the low patronage the sector was experiencing, stressing that as fresh funds had not been injected in the system, the economy had become starved of funds and this had a negative ripple effect on the populace.

The Man president blamed the importation of substandard goods into the country and the activities of smugglers for the manufacturing sector’s low performance, adding that the nation’s security personnel were complicit in the smuggling business.

“Another reason the manufacturing sector has not done very well is the rabid and unbridled importation of sub-standard goods into the country, especially through smuggling, and I am not sure that the security agencies that are manning our borders are doing a good job, otherwise, we will not be having the influx of sub-standard goods into the country to compete with locally produced goods. This is because smugglers have undue advantage as they often avoid duty payment,” he said.

Jacob decried the harsh and unfavourable economic conditions that MAN had had to operate under, which he listed as the dearth of infrastructure, epileptic power supply, bad roads, high cost of transportation and non-functional rail system, which add up to the overhead cost of manufacturers.

He maintained that even though the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration was taking some steps in the right direction, the president still needed to do more.

“The present government is making some efforts but still needs to do more. The Economic Recovery Growth Plan is an initiative in the right direction and there are other initiatives the government has introduced that, when properly and judiciously implemented, will address some of these challenges.”