Why Enugu Government is commercialising seveteen enterprises
The Senior Special Assistant to Enugu State Governor on Revenue Generation, Ms Ada Onah said that commercialising the state’s 17 enterprises was to encourage private partnership in the moribund enterprises.
Onah, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Enugu, noted that government was interested in working with the private investors to reduce capital flight.
“We know that the economic indices of the government had reduced and the best direction is to look inwards to generate a revenue base that is sustainable.
“We have a lot of moribund industries that government has put out for investors to participate in, either through a build, operate and transfer system or build operate and manage.
“Government is not encouraging outright sale but partnership, where for instance a 50 per cent equity is coming from government, then the rest will from private sector,” she said.
NAN reports that the government had recently announced its readiness to commercialise 17 public enterprises to make them more effective for service delivery.
These industrial concerns include, Sunrise Flour Mills, Presidential Hotel and Niger Steel Mills.
Onah explained that no government could survive on its own without public private partnership.
She said that government would partner with local investors with the capital in order to reduce capital flight, stressing that the state had enough infrastructure to support the agenda.
“We are creating the enabling environment for investors to come. Enugu State is a virgin land and an emerging area in terms of hospitality and medical tourism.
“Security in the state is good,” she added.
Onah said the state had a tax system that would not choke investors, saying there were excellent tax holiday mechanisms for new entrepreneurs.
“We are trying to harness on all taxes so that there will not be multiplicity of taxes that can `kill investors’. An investor is interested in getting a tax holiday, but there are certain basic taxes that are sacrosanct and can’t be waived.
“If the state is going to generate its own revenue, what it means is that its liquidity will increase and when you increase your liquidity all the agenda and electoral promises of government will be met” .
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1 Comments
Way to go. Turn the companies over to the private sector the moment they are completed. Private sector run companies better than the government. This is no secret.
We will review and take appropriate action.