Guardian

THE Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has decried the persistent high unemployment level in the country, which it described as inimical to the nation’s economic growth and development.

The President of the institute, John Femi Jegede, pointed out that although the government appeared to have made certain moves to boost the situation in the labour market, the trend has remained largely unimproved.

He said that the institute’s worries were based on the fact that high unemployment is averse to government’s avowed revenue generation drive, with its concomitant pangs on the economy.

“This problem has resulted to anti-social behaviours, including militancy, prostitution, armed robbery, terrorism and kidnapping, among others. It is our belief as an institute, that to fight and win the war against these vices, government’s encouragement of the private sector cannot be over-emphasised.

“Government should not only be committed to creating jobs for Nigerians through direct employment in its agencies and parastatals, but also pursue a more sustainable approach to job creation by encouraging the private sector.

“We need to build young entrepreneurs, who will be able to employ five or more people, with multiplier effects that will give more job opportunities than government expanding its agencies, resulting in less productivity,” he said.

He stressed that it should be noted that while government needs commendation for its efforts so far in exploiting the non-oil sector to reduce overdependence and expand the economic base, the efforts have not yielded much desired results.

According to him, the inability to effectively control the allocation of import licences and foreign exchange aggravated the pace of industrial decline, with the manufacturing sector not being able to play a leading role in economic growth and development.

Jegede noted that the Bureau of Statistics even pegged the issues affecting the sector to parlous infrastructure, shortage of skilled manpower, poor linkage of industrial sub-sectors, overdependence on the external sector for raw materials and capital goods, which were discovered in the 1970s.

For the oil sector that would have provided a leeway, he said: “The unpleasant stunning revelations in that sector leaves more to be desired. The vital issues in this sector include weak institutions, lack of transparency and corruption, among others, often perpetrated by major players in this sector.

“Presently, the Petroleum Industry Bill, probably, holds the record for the most controversial bill in the present democratic dispensation, having experienced several setbacks in the National Assembly. This, to a larger extent, has affected the injection of foreign investment in the sector.

In the banking sector, he explained that the report, which examined the progress of the country’s overhaul of its banking system, however, said the sector needed a longer regulatory track record before it could stop considering corporate governance and regulatory oversight to be among its key risks.

According to him, “the report, which totally endorsed the banking reforms, noted that though the industry and its regulation had improved significantly, the long-term success for Nigerian banks will chiefly depend on them enhancing their risk management, improving their governance, diversifying their loan portfolios, and securing their funding.

He lamented that the banking reforms also led to record-breaking business combinations and acquisition by different banks which led to severe job losses as licenses of some banks were also withdrawn and bridge banks created to replace them.

“I am of the view therefore, that to ensure that banks comply with the required standards of risk management and do not engage in reckless lending practices again, the regulatory authorities must know what is right and stand for it,” he added.