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Others
Current government policies, incentives and poverty reduction strategies.
Federal Government Policy
1. Excise Duty: Excise duty on beer stout, beer fermented beverages. Its code 2206.000 has been reduced from 40 percent to 20 percent.
2. Export Incentives for
Agricultural Crops: All Agricultural cash crops e.g. Cocoa, groundnut, rubber, cotton, palm produce, gum-Arabic, ginger etc. shall enjoy 5 percent Export Expansion Grant in the year 2002.
3. Industrial
Machinery: All industrial machinery shall enjoy maximum of 5% duty rate from year 2002, under Chapter 84.
4. Industrial Machinery shall be exempted from Value Added Tax (VAT) from year 2002.
5. Zero per duty concession shall also be granted to the following goods:-
-Machinery and Equipment imported by Establishments using Nigeria Gas.
-Agricultural machinery and parts HS codes 8432.1000 – 8437.9000
-Agricultural tractors HS code 8701.9000
-Plant and spare parts for bona fide cement manufacturers.
6. Other duty concessions:
-Raw materials for bona fide pharmaceutical manufacturers at 5% duty rate.
-Fertilizers under Chapter 31, at 5% duty rate.
-Motorcycle and Bicycle KDS for bona fide manufacturers / Assemblers at 5% duty rate.
-Communication equipment 5%
-Parents / Grand parents stock, HS code 0105.9200 – 1100 at 5%
7. Special duty concession was granted to manufacturers of sanitary pads and baby diapers to enable them import their raw materials on the hands of
the status as bona fide manufacturers at 5% duty rate.
This is aimed at attracting more investments to this sub-sector, and in order to grant protection to genuine manufacturers.
Kwara State Industrial & Commercial Policy
The policy objective of Kwara State Government is to ensure the rapid industrialization of the state through the provision of a virile industrial base.
Apart from setting priorities in its investment promotion efforts, the Kwara State government has introduced a package of incentives to prospective investors. These incentives would assist the industrialists in
taking the right decision of siting his industry in the State. These include:-(A) PROVISION OF INFRACSTRUCTURAL FACILITIES The government has provided industrial and commercial layouts Estates that
are fully serviced with necessary infrastructures including access roads, water supply, electricity and drainage in al the local government area in the State. Where telephone facilities are available in a town,
telephone line will be extended to the layouts/ estates therein.
(B) PLOT ALLOCATION: - Industrial and commercial plots will be allocated promptly on approval of project.
(C) CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY (C of
O) certificate of occupancy will be issued writing 30 days of agreement by all the parties involved in the processing.
(D) JOINT FINANCE OF PROJECT: Joint financing by government agencies is quarantined subject
to their independent assessment and decision on the project.
(E) REBATE ON GROUND RENT:-
Rebate is granted on ground rent and other fees to reduce the financial burden on the investors.
(F) AVAILABILITY OF RAW MATERIALS:-
An in – depth survey of the available raw material potentials of the State is obtainable from the RAW MATERIALS RESEARCH and Development council (RMRDC) at a token.
Development strategies for poverty reduction in Kwara State. i. Development ObjectivesThe State has formulated twelve development plans to date. They
all aim at addressing the intractable problems facing the State, namely low productivity as a result of weak economic base, hunger, disease and poverty. In specific terms, the formulation and implementation of
programmes of development in Kwara State are being guided by the following objectives:
a. Pursuit of increased agricultural production with a view to achieving higher levels of self-efficiency in food production and the production of raw materials for agro-based industries.
b. Expansion of the State's revenue base to augment the limited financial allocations from the Federation Account and the Value Added Tax (VAT).
c. Continuation of the curtailment of extra-budgetary expenditures. d. Completion of critical on-going projects and rehabilitation of existing social infrastructures like roads, water supply, power
supply, health-care delivery and education. e. Sustenance of key on-going programmes in agriculture, manufacturing and solid minerals sectors, through direct Government incentives and support. f. Intensive support for and promotion of productive activities in the rural areas of the economy. g. Poverty alleviation through employment promotion and creation. h.
Increasing the role of the private sector in the areas of industrial and agricultural production and services industries. i. Improvement of the efficiency level of the administrative or bureaucratic
framework for the coordination of public sector intervention in the economy; and j. Provision of counterpart funding for existing and future external loans/ grants facilities. It is most
evident from the foregoing objectives that Government's concern has all along been targeted at alleviating poverty.
ii. Strategies for Poverty Alleviation
According to the National Planning Commission (1997), any strategy aimed at reducing poverty must include three simultaneous courses of action focused emphases on economic growth, provision of better
social services and infrastructures and targeted intervention to protect the poor and the most vulnerable in society. Accordingly, Kwara State will rely more on the informal and formal private
sectors to increase capital investments in the belief that a growing economy can reduce poverty. The economy must generate employment. Therefore, incentives to the informal and private sector to increase
capital investments are imperative. Other factors crucial to poverty reduction include: improved access o credit, technology, materials and markets, as will as ancillary services such as research and extension.
Moreover, the poor need access to social services and infrastructures. This will promote the full use of the labour skills of the poor. Therefore, Kwara State will focus on primary
health care, primary education. Water supplies, sanitation, rural roads and urban roads. Realizing that some vulnerable groups cannot benefit from broad-based economic growth and improved social services,
specific groups would be targeted so as to avoid spreading resources too thinly over the entire State. Small, well-targeted, demand driven projects will be implemented in collaborational Labour Office (ILO) to
fight poverty in the world through:
a. creation of productive income-generating employment; and
b. improving the livelihood of those excluded from the process of development.
Similarly, the World Bank after providing social and economic data on poverty in selected countries, has recommended a two-part mutually reinforcing strategy to be used in achieving a rapid and politically
sustainable improvement in the quality of the poor. The first part is productive use of labour; while the second part is the widespread provision of basic social; services to the poor, such as education and health
care. There is a need to formulate and implement programmes and projects targeted at solving immediate problems facing the people, propelling a more equitable and sustainable development at the grassroots
and improving the living standards of the populace to lift them above poverty line. The activities to be promoted will be those that are of primary interest to the life of the people, have potential to raise their
income level on a lasting basis. Such activities must also be those based on local raw materials and have relevant infrastructures and market linkages that could support them. In consideration of the foregoing
facts, a number of programmes and projects have been identified in order to reduce problem of poverty in the State. |
