22nd March, 2011
The Informal sector is an economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government; and is not included in that government’s Gross National Product (GNP); as opposed to a formal economy. Opinion differs widely on what should be the appropriate attitude towards the sector. While some tend to see it in terms of popular development, a vital source of employment and income for the poor, the seedbed of local entrepreneurship and a potent instrument in the campaign to tackle poverty, others simply dismiss it as an anomaly, a source of disorder, and an obstacle to the development of a modern economy.
In the present day Lagos State, it is difficult to ignore the sector as it has become a veritable source of wealth creation and employment for many. The transporters, vulcanisers, mechanics, battery chargers, fashion designers, hair dressers, barbers, traders, painters, carpenters, bricklayers, etc. have become an integral part of our daily life that we can hardly do without them. It is in view of this that the Fashola government has evolved policies and programmes that are meant to accommodate and integrate the sector into the developmental process in the state with a view to harnessing its tremendous potentials for the purpose of economic growth and development.
In an attempt to monitor and standardise the activities of the tradesmen and artisans, the state government started the identification and registration of various trade associations in order to have a comprehensive data bank of the practitioners for planning purposes. The long term plan of government in respect of the project, which was launched on Friday 24 August, 2007, is to add value to information collected and collated by using it to produce a comprehensive business directory to be called ‘Lagos Pages’ to expose all the legitimate businesses in the state to international investors. With the Law promulgated in 1989 as an Edict and reviewed in 2003 as an Act, the state government has identified and registered 279 trade associations with membership of over 277,000.
Perhaps, the most significant of the Fashola administration’s support for the sector is the now popular Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) which was introduced by the immediate past administration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and being effectively consolidated by the government of Babatunde Raji Fashola. The BRT system operates on the concept of utilising dedicated lanes in areas where competition with highway traffic would be greatest while it makes use of existing highways and roads in areas that are less congested in order to reduce cost. The BRT operation in Lagos, which commenced on the 17th May, 2008, has so far lifted over 52 million passengers. Its bus fleet has increased from 100 at inception to 170 buses two months later and presently boast of over 220.
It should be stressed that all the buses being used in the BRT operations are strictly owned by private operators who only enjoy the conducive operational environs provided by the State Government through road segregation and upgrading of other road infrastructure. The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), for instance, owns some of the buses with funds secured from Ecobank Nigeria Ltd. while another batch of the buses is owned by LAGBUS Assets Management Nigeria Limited.
The initiative of the Lagos State to introduce Eko Meat Vans into the state’s meat distribution is also part of its effort to transform the informal sector. The main objective of government in introducing the vans is to put an end to the health hazard associated with the crude style of distributing meat in the past as well as ensuring food security through modern and hygienic mode of meat transportation. In order to adhere strictly to required hygienic standards in the meat distribution network, government banned slaughtering activities on Sundays in the state to enable butchers embark on environmental sanitation of their slaughter slabs. Equally, government has upgraded all the slaughter slabs in the state while all meat slaughtered now carry certificate of health duly certified by the vet officer in charge. To ensure the active involvement of butchers in the project, government introduced the Butchers Association to some commercial banks for the purpose of securing loans for the procurement of 50 meat vans.
The numerous empowerment programmes of the State’s Ministries of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and Youth, Sports and Social Development, offered opportunities for all class of Lagosians to learn various vocations after which they are provided with needed capital to start off on their own . Through this initiative, over 20,000 youths were recently trained in all the local government areas and local council development areas. The courses offered at the training include: Hair braiding /weaving, tie & dye, balloon & flower decoration, cakes & snacks production, soap and pomade production, hat making & craft, bead making and lastly production of stove thread /insecticide.
Previously, the total number of skill acquisition centres under the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was thirteen but additional three have been added to the existing ones. These new skill acquisition centres are located in Ibeju- Lekki, Ikorodu II, and Mushin. To meet the challenges and demands of labour market and reduce the rate of unemployment in the state, the state government has introduced additional six new vocations namely; welding, tiles laying, aluminum fabrication, screen/transfer printing technology, vulcanizing/ wheel balancing and alignment, handset repairing, refrigeration and air conditioning in egan and Iba skill acquisition centres respectively.
To underscore the importance the administration attached to training, it has constructed five additional vocational skill centres at Ajegunle, Itire-Ikate, Mushin, Ifako-Ijaye and Ibeju-Lekki where trainees are trained in vocations such as tiles laying, welding, aluminium fabrication, refrigeration and air conditioning maintenance and repairs, vulcanizing/wheel balancing and alignment, screen transfer printing technology, tailoring, textile weaving, hair dressing and weaving, carpentry and furniture works, block making amongst several others. The state government being gender sensitive has paid particular attention to women training and empowerment and over 17,000 women have benefited from various vocational training ranging from textile/hat design, sewing, tie and dye, baking, pottery and photography.
Aside empowering the operators of the sector through various skill acquisition and training programmes, the Fashola government has also made efforts to assist artisans access small credits or loans. The difficulties that informal sector operators face in obtaining credit on the same term as modern enterprises constitute one of the major obstacles to their growth. It is the attempt to get round this problem that made the government to establish a N5 billion EKO Micro-Finance scheme, to be accessed at subsidised interest rates, as a revolving credit delivery initiative through which more wealth could be generated in Lagos State. In an effort to institutionalise the scheme, the state government is collaborating with Micro-Finance Banks such as MIC Micro Finance Bank Ltd. LASU Micro Finance Bank Ltd., Ojokoro Micro Finance Bank Ltd. and Gapbridge Micro Finance Bank Ltd. More than 14,000 women entrepreneurs and others have been empowered with micro-credit facilities secured from these banks to enable them function effectively in their chosen vocations.
As a practical way of fulfilling its promise to alleviate poverty and create employment for its citizenry in both urban and rural areas, the Lagos State Government, in conjunction with Sterling Bank, and other government stakeholders, has presented Lagos State Rural Transportation Initiative (LARUTI) in the state’s 20 local governments and 37 local council areas. The project, which was conceived by government to alleviate poverty, especially among the rural dwellers, principally operates through the use of a modified type of tricycles.
•Tayo Ogunbiyi is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.
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