Lagos promises economic reforms following summit recommendations

LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA’S COM MERCIAL and business capital, following recommendations made at its just concluded economic summit, popularly known as Ehingbeti, is promising to strongly press forward with wide-ranging reforms that will position the economy of the state to take advantage or emerging trends of the 21st Century.

The state government assured indigene, residents, sector experts, development partners, development-minded organisations and other critical stakeholders from all over the world of its willingness to listen and act together with the people towards implementing resolutions and policies that would make Lagos enhance its business interactions and technology output towards a new course of physical economic development for the state.

Obafemi Hamzat, the deputy governor of Lagos State, stated this during the presentation of resolutions at end of the 8th Lagos State Economic Summit (Ehingbeti) which theme was “Greater Lagos: Setting the Tone for the Next Decade”, held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island.

Commenting on the six plenary and discussion sessions driven by 146 speakers and panellists at the three-day physical and virtualcombined event, Hamzat noted that six thematic areas were critically examined, including, shaping up the state as the world’s best investment destination; strengthening governance; restructur

ing institutions and legislation; imperatives and prospects for the digital economy; roadmap to ensuring inclusive human capital development; funding growth sustainability, reliance and impact.

The deputy governor further acknowledged the recommendations made by business experts and analysts at the summit on the need for the state to venture audaciously in projecting its brand by taking advantage of the coming large united African market, playing a critical role in the industrialisation of Nigeria and adhering to the dramatic shifts brought about by the realities of the 21st Century.

He assured that the state government will deepen its works in the areas of providing an enabling environment and support of technology hubs, provision of venture capital to budding businesses and SMEs to boost their start-up capacity as well as sustain them through existing and new programmes at LSETF, LASRIC, the Ministries of Wealth Creation, WAPA, Youth and Sports Development, in collaboration with private organisations.

Recognising the importance of ease of doing business, the deputy governor appreciated the summit’s recommendation which stressed that the government should reinvent its processes and operations to improve transparency, accountability and secure the trust and confidence of stakeholders sustainably.

The state was also tasked on promoting accountability through responsible and responsive revenue institutions as well as prudent deployment of tax policy that can be accurately determined

Highlighting other recommendations projected at the summit, Hamzat noted that some of the conspicuous infrastructure development, especially increased road networks, housing schemes and optic fibre investments were commended and encouraged to be scaled up to cater for its demographic endowment. Stakeholders were also enjoined to collectively invest in the infrastructure of the future through the development of telecommunication, the green economy and renewable energy.

The deputy governor also recounted the call to harness the power of the youths and to put policies and programmes in place to unleash the potential of the state through concerted youth-focused capacity building in digital literacy, STEM, the arts, entertainment, sports and other sub-sectors to be established by the government in partnership with the private sector.

Other emphasized points at the summit, he recalled, were the need to improve the current level of public enlightenment by ramping up and finding new ways of creating public awareness and improving participation in government programmes; the need to improve the state’s education system through a thorough overhaul of the curriculum with a view to providing an education that meets 21st Century realities thereby reducing youth unemployment; an upgrade in the functions of the Lagos Bureau of Statistics as an independent, professional bureau to boost data management for development; investment in technology to drive e-government, e-commerce and security intensification.

Hamzat pledged that the various suggestions and submissions by all the parties would be reviewed and duly implemented by the government as it recognised the importance of renewed commitment to improved partnerships and collaboration across national, state and other sub-national governments, the private sector, civil society and the international community.

“To say the least, this has been an extremely gratifying and exhilarating process. The responses from all stakeholders have been encouraging and shows that we are all committed to building a Greater Lagos; and that gives hope even in these times when it seems gloomy because the challenges are so enormous,” he added.