THE Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise [CPPE] has hailed the recent executive order by President Bola Tinubu that removed import duties, Value Added Tax (VAT) and excise duty on pharmaceutical raw materials, intermediate products, medical diagnostic equipment and machinery.
Tinubu signed the executive order on June 28 to ease the high cost of locally-produced pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and medical devices.
According to a release signed by the Director/Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Muda Yusuf, on June 30, the measure would boost domestic production, reduce medication costs, and improve healthcare access.
Yusuf said the order would also revitalise the nation’s pharmaceutical industries and create more jobs.
He suggested that such fiscal policy measures should be replicated to boost production in other segments of the real sector.
“We need similar executive orders for agriculture, agrochemicals, and agro-allied industries to curb the surging food inflation. We need identical intervention in the energy sector to promote energy security and incentivise private investments in the industry. There is a need for similar support for the iron and steel sector to aid the construction industry and reduce construction costs for housing and infrastructure.
“We also need fiscal policy protection to support domestic investments in petroleum refineries to conserve foreign exchange, create jobs, and deepen backward integration,” he said.
Meanwhile, the CPPE commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for scrapping its Price Verification System Portal, which it described as a needless duplication of the functions of the Nigeria Customs Service and a product of a dysfunctional foreign exchange regime.
The CPPE also highlighted some overlapping regulatory functions that had continued to constitute impediments to domestic and foreign investments.
“Some of these regulatory overlaps exist concerning the following institutions: Federal Ministry of Environment, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency [NESREA], state environmental protection agencies, local government environmental units, and state waste management agencies.
“There are also overlapping functions with respect to SON, NAFDAC, Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service, Weights and Measures Department, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission [FCCPC]. These are some of the numerous regulatory institutions with overlapping mandates.”
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at [email protected] (jameskennyogunyale@gmail) or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames