…Reduces membership from 43 to 21
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Vice President Yemi Osinabjo has launched a streamlined and refocused National Council on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The refocused MSME council chaired by the Vice President and assisted by the Minister of Trade and Investment has been reduced from an initial membership of 43 to 21, to ensure effectiveness in delivery.
Osinbajo said at the inauguration that the Council is expected to effectively coordinate the enterprise development efforts made by the various tiers of government, International Development Partners (IDP) and the private sector towards job creation, wealth creation and poverty alleviation in Nigeria.
He stressed that it was important to inaugurate the council even in the absence of some its members because the government wants the council to move with speed. “There is much work to be done,” he said.
The council is the coordinating platform for the implementation of all development programmes within the sub-sector especially the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP), a repackaged and strategic platform to deliver growth and sustainability within Nigeria’s MSMEs sub-sector, was first launched in 2014 by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
The Vice President described MSMEs as the bedrock of Nigeria’s industrialisation and inclusive economic development and the most important component of the industrialisation drive in the country’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), being the primary drivers of employment, wealth creation and poverty alleviation.
The Council, he said, shall be the apex body on MSMEs development in the country, providing guidance and coordination on the establishment of strategies and policies for the wholesome support of MSME development in Nigeria.
It shall also engineer the institution of effective monitoring and evaluation strategies to ensure that MSMEs’ development targets are achieved.
“It is important to re-emphasize the point that this Council will have the same success delivery platform as the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Committee (PEBEC). The membership of the Council has been streamlined for the purpose of achieving results without undue bureaucracy. For instance, the existing membership has been reduced from 43 to 21 for effectiveness and purposefulness” he said.
Terms of reference for the council include coordinating the activities of all stakeholders in both the private and public include sectors to ensure that all efforts and activities are geared towards the priority sectors of the economy: Guiding the Federal Government on the formulation of broad policies and strategies to drive the wholesome development of the MSMEs sub-sector in Nigeria: Coordinating the roles and responsibilities of Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), State and Local Governments and other stakeholders responsible for MSME development: Promoting inter-agency synergy and cooperation in MSME development: Encouraging and strengthening Public-Private- Partnership and Public-Public-Partnership in MSME
development: Ensuring the creation of an enabling environment to facilitate the development of MSME clusters, infrastructure upgrade, access to finance, MSME capacity building, etc: Fostering increased awareness and ensuring stakeholders’ buy-in on MSME development programmes, initiatives and projects: Ensuring the institution of an effective framework for monitoring and evaluating the impact of MSME policies, programmes, projects and initiatives: And ensuring that the principles of the National Policy on MSMEs are achieved and reviewed as the need arises.
Other members of the Council are drawn from public and private sector institutions and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) will serve as its secretariat.