Dangote Cement Intensifies Training Of Block Makers

Economic Confidential
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Dangote Cement Intensifies Training Of Block Makers
In furtherance of its campaign against incessant building collapse in the country, Dangote Cement Plc has embarked on a nationwide sensitisation and training of block makers. The endeavour recently took officials of the company to Oyo State, where it conducted practical training and demonstration of the process for the production of quality blocks. The company also donated tools and other materials to block makers in the state to assist them in the production of quality blocks.
The programme training is holding in partnership with the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) and the Council of Registered Engineers in Nigeria (COREN).
Explaining the reason behind the initiative, the South West Regional Head of Dangote Cement, Funmi Sani, said the company is concerned about the rising cases of building collapse with its attendant loss of lives, most of which are traceable to the use of low quality material especially blocks. She expressed the hope that the forum would enable the stakeholders to address the problem.
In his presentation, Johnson Olaniyi, the Regional Manager, Sales and Marketing for Dangote Cement, adduced some reasons for the production of substandard blocks. He identified inadequate manpower, poor funding, inappropriate mix of materials and the greed as factors. He said this is the main reason why the company decided to empower the block makers by giving them relevant tools.
In his remarks, the SON representative, Engineer Ali Olayinka, commended Dangote Cement for the initiative, which he wants to be extended to other industry players. The company has a target of training at least 9,000 block makers across the country this year.

Nexim Bank: Repositioning For Non-oil Exports

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Nexim Bank: Repositioning For Non-oil Exports
IN recent decades, export competitiveness in the era of globalization has been at the heart of domestic economic growth and development debates. Against the background of growing disparity in income between the developed and the developing world, due largely to divergence in industrial capacity, the central question has always been: what can and should be done in developing countries to boost export growth and diversification, and enhance competitiveness in international
markets?
In 2007, a leading economist at the MIT, Alice H Amsden noted that the gamut of policies, practices and institutions which led to the rapid skill formation and industrialization in successful exporting
Countries of the developing world was carefully built, diligently developed and tested over many years, led to trade protectionism, competitive pricing and the establishment of Export Processing zones which afforded access to imported input at world prices and often more advantages.
In Nigeria, no bank understands the intricacies of export growth, export development, export diversification and export competitiveness more than the Nigerian Export-Import Bank  NEXIM Bank, the Trade Policy Bank of Nigeria. Established in 1991 by Act 38 of 1991 originally as an Export Credit Agency, owned equally by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoFI), NEXIM has since 2009 reformed its processes and redefined its focus to promoting the diversification of the Nigerian economy and deepening the external sector, particularly the non-oil sector through the provision of credit facilities in both local and foreign currencies; risk-bearing facilities through export credit guarantee & export credit insurance; business development and financial advisory services etc.
In pursuit of this renewed mandate of promoting export diversification and deepening the non-oil sector, the Bank’s current strategic initiatives are targeted towards boosting employment creation and foreign exchange earnings in the Manufacturing, Agro-processing, Solid Minerals and Services (Tourism, Transportation and Entertainment) industries –  The MASS Agenda of NEXIM Bank.
The Bank is concerned with the competitiveness of Nigeria’s products and services in foreign markets. According to the MD/CEO of NEXIM, Mr. Roberts Orya, Nigerian exporters have looked away from their traditional market of West Africa and the African region, and focused on the markets of Europe and Americas despite not having the competitive edge. This is different from the practice of the most successful exporters of the developing world including South Korea, Turkey, China, India, Brazil, etc., which for strategic commercial reasons, entrenched their regional competitiveness before venturing outside their core trading blocs.
NEXIM understands that export-competitiveness requires actions at the highest national level. No doubt, the Administration of His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, in pursuit of the Transformation Agenda, is showing strong political commitment to boost Nigeria’s export-competitiveness.
Just recently, at the inauguration of the new NEXIM Bank Board as reconstituted by President Goodluck Jonathan for improved performance, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Honourable Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala expressed satisfaction at the achievements of NEXIM and restated Government’s determination to trade expansion. The CME said that, “…the Government of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has embarked on a path of transforming the economy; trying to work with our private sector to expand trade, particularly regional trade, incorporating the West African zone and even beyond…”
She charged the new Board to understand that NEXIM has a responsibility if Nigeria is going to play its role of being the powerhouse within the West Africa sub-region, and beyond.
NEXIM takes developmental rather than a purely financial-return-maximisation approach in its lending. The Bank focuses on the identification, development and financing of projects that agrees with national objectives on private sector development and non-oil export.
NEXIM Bank received commendations from its Shareholders for its support to the Creative and Entertainment sector, and facilitation of the establishment of the Sealink Project, which will boost access by Nigerian exporters to the ECOWAS and Central African markets.
The shareholders of the Bank have given it the approval to strengthen its balance sheet, including attracting offshore lines of credit.
Already, NEXIM has partnerships with many overseas financial institutions, like the African Development Bank, Afrexim Bank, Islamic Development Bank, India EXIM, to name a few.
With the inauguration of the bank’s board headed by the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, CBN, Dr. Sarah Alade, it is expected that the nation’s export trade policy will strengthen, even as NEXIM Bank continues to grow its funding interventions and export advisory services.
Chinedu Moghalu
Head, Corporate Communication Department

Cocoa Agenda Yields 28 Percent Increment

Economic Confidential
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Cocoa Agenda Yields 28 Percent Increment
There is excitement among cocoa producers in the country as output is projected to increase by 28 percent for the main harvest that starts this month. Output for the October to January harvest will rise to 320,000 metric tons from 250,000 tons a year earlier, Robo Adhuze, a spokesman for the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, said in Akure. Nigeria also has a smaller crop that runs from March to June that usually adds another 35,000 tons, Adhuze said, according to Bloomberg.
Nigeria is helping farmers to grow more beans and last year distributed seeds that are resistant to diseases such as Black pod to boost crop prospects by 2015. Demand will probably outpace supply for a second year in the 12 months starting next month as production falls in West Africa, the main growing region, and consumption increases.
“Black pod disease was witnessed all over, but the impact on production was minimal owing to pest control,” Adhuze said.
Ivory Coast is the biggest grower, followed by Ghana and Indonesia, according to the London-based International Cocoa Organisation. Cocoa prices in London climbed 17 percent this year.

A Third of Privatised Coys Gasp for Breath- BPE

Economic Confidential
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Just over one third of all the 122 the government enterprise privatised between 1999 and 2012 are currently struggling for survival in the murky waters of market competition while the other 64 percent are doing well according to a statistics recently released by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).  Director General of the agency, Mr. Benjamin Ezra Dikki said while discussing with officials of two international rating agencies in his office. He also disclosed that N251.5bn was generated from the process out of which N147 billion was remitted to the Privatisation Proceeds Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Officials of Standard and Poors and Fitch Rating were at the BPE as part of their data gathering for the 2013 Nigeria Sovereign Rating exercise and was led Richard Fox.
Dikki said government was creating an enabling environment for private sector investments in infrastructure through institution of sound policies, liberalisation and delineation of the roles of the parties, appropriate legal and regulatory framework, mitigation of risks and introduction of independent economic  regulators limiting government to policy formulation, planning and technical regulation among others.
The DG who was represented by the Head, Strategic Planning, Mr. Osauzo Obaro said that the Bureau was at present working to commercialise the country’s 12 River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs), the seven national parks, the three Development Finance Institutions (DFIs)-Bank of Industry (BOI), Bank of Agriculture (BOI) and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FNBN) and the Federal Housing Authority.
Dikki recalled that the Bureau had championed cross cutting reforms in the Nigerian economy including; the Pension Reform Act 2004 which led to the establishment of the National Pension Commission and the entrenchment of a stable pension policy in Nigeria and the emergence of several Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs); Cross debt resolution, leading to the establishment of Debt Management Office (DMO) and Ports and Harbour Authorities Bill which proposes to   repeal the Nigerian ports Authority Act No. 38, 1999.

Nigeria May Surpass MDG Targets

Economic Confidential
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Nigeria May Surpass MDG Targets
Nigeria has reiterated its commitment to scaling up interventions in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
President Goodluck Jonathan disclosed this at the quarterly meeting of the Presidential Committee on the Assessment and Monitoring of the MDGs held at the Presidential Villa.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs Precious Gbenol said the Nigerian government would intervene in the areas of funding and deepening multi-sectoral partnership.
She said the government would also intervene by ensuring synergy with states and deepening partnership with the international development partners.
Gbenol said a lot of progress had been made in the last two years in the key targets goals one, three and six and there were potentials to achieve more on goals four, five and eight.
“In goals one, which is reducing the hunger target, we have been able to reduce hunger from the 1991 prevalence of 19.3 percent to 8.25 percent well ahead of the 9.6 prevalence rate set target of 2015,” she said.
“We have also been able to improve our target on gender equality by ensuring that gender equality is maintained in primary and secondary schools by wiping out disparity,” she added.
She said the current infant mortality rate was 94 per 1,000 live births while the projection to achieving the MDGs was 64 per 1,000 live births.
The presidential assistant expressed optimism that with the intervention that had been put in place such as immunization, the oral dehydration therapy and zinc supplementation, infant mortality would further reduce.
Gbenol emphasised the need for the country to work harder on water and sanitation.
Meanwhile, Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo has reiterated government’s commitment to meeting MDG targets for water supply and sanitation considering the abundant water resources, existence of national policies for water supply and sanitation and strategic framework and guidelines as well as existing trained and trainable pool of manpower.
Represented by Architect Darius Dickson Ishaku, Over-Seeing Minister of Environment at the opening ceremony of the Nigerian Water Supply Association (NWSA) 3rd Annual Conference, General Meeting/Exhibition in Abuja, Sambo emphasised the need to reform the water sector. He stated that reforms could take a range of forms; from wholesale and fundamental changes to the way water policies are designed and implemented, to relatively minor adjustment to refine existing policy settings and instruments in order to improve their effectiveness.
He said the Federal Government is adopting several strategies to improve the water supply and sanitation sector. He added that the reforms would bring up more innovative strategies that would further assist the Government to strengthen the existing ones towards ensuring provision of sustainable water supply and sanitation to all Nigerians.
In her keynote address, the Minister of Water Resources represented by the Director of Water Supply in the Ministry, Engr. Bello Tinau said the theme of the conference, which is ‘water sector reform: Harnessing Global Knowledge for local Action’ is very apt to the current level of development in the water sector as well as the tenets of the Transformation Agenda of the Administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
She noted that the objectives of the Association, which is concerned with efficiency of water supply for domestic, commercial and industrial use and ensure coordinated action towards acquiring and improving information on water supply and sanitation from technical, legal, administrative, economic and social points of view. She added that with such objectives, the Association would contribute to water sector development and charged that all hands to be on deck to make the Association strong and healthy.
She acknowledged the continuous contributions of the development partners to the water sector development and assured the Association of the Ministry’s strong support to ensure that the it achieves its objectives heights.
Speaking,first President of the Association, Engr. Mustapha Bukar represented by Head of PPP and Urban Water Sector Reform in the Ministry, Engr. Benson Ajisegiri solicited support for the Association to enable it effect the desired change in the sector, especially in areas such as human resources development, operation and maintenance to transform service delivery and sustainability.
According to him, “one of the best ways to effectively improve water supply delivery in Nigeria is to create a platform that would bring together the experiences of the private sector, as well as consumers, to chart a way forward towards addressing the widening gap of demand and supply and quality of service.
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