The Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture on Monday called on the Federal Government to provide legal backing for infrastructure projects in the country.
It also called for the establishment of a special bank for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, which would provide long term funding at a single digit interest rate.
The President, ABUCCIMA, Dr. Solomon Nyagba, stated this in Abuja while speaking to journalists about the eighth Abuja International Trade Fair, which would begin on September 26.
The fair, which will host about 500 local and foreign exhibitors, has as its theme, ‘Promoting the culture of production and innovations in SMEs to achieve competitiveness for national development.”
He said a special bank with the facility of single digit interest rate would help to address the funding challenge in the sector.
He said, “Most of our members are operating in the SMEs sector and anything we do, we want our members to benefit in the businesses they are doing.
“We are canvassing for SME bank that would come with special incentive such as low interest rates so that the operators can access credit and the credit should not just be short-term but it should be long term.”
On infrastructure, Nyabga said the need for legal backing for projects was necessary in order to ensure that projects approved by the government were implemented within a specific timeframe.
This, he noted, would help to discourage the practice where projects that would have helped to improve the nation’s economy were abandoned owing to paucity of funds.
He said, “The National Integrated Master plan, which I was part of the process, is a very comprehensive document for the development of infrastructure in Nigeria.
“If that document can be implemented because there is no shortage of plans in this country; but the problem we have is implementation.
“So, we did make a strong recommendation that once that document is approved, it should be moved to the National Assembly to be made an infrastructure law so that whether there is change in President or leadership, it should be implemented as a matter of law.”
