5th June, 2017
Feature
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Undoubtedly, the high rate of poverty in Nigeria has become worrisome. With the naira losing to the dollar almost all year round, the prices of goods and commodities have been priced out of the reach of the common man. Biting economic recession worsens the state of the economy, with the masses grossly impoverished. In the midst of this, the Lagos State Government is creating wealth and empowering the masses.
The administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has made it clear from the beginning that he was set to create jobs, to make Lagosians self-employed by promising to establish the N25 billion Employment Trust Fund, ETF. The show his seriousness, the governor established the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment.
The ministry has the mandate to initiate, formulate, execute, evaluate policies, set and regulate standards for all wealth creation and employment related matters in the State, to create value-chain systems; establishment of Job Registration Centres and promotion of Labour Exchange Programmes in each of the Five Divisions of Lagos State; collation of data and statistics on employment and wealth creation matters in both the public and private sectors and liaise with relevant MDAs such as Ministries of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Agriculture, WAPA, Works and Infrastructure and Establishments, Training and Pensions in attaining the set objectives of the Ministry.
Other responsibilities are to facilitate the transformation of the informal sector to formal sector including registration and supervision; promote traditional and social entrepreneurship, facilitate business and management extension services and consultancy to SMEs, Craftsmen, tradesmen and Artisans; facilitate skill acquisition for graduates and upgrade the skills of artisans for employability and promotion of entrepreneurship; ensure broad-based capacity building, sensitization and enlightenment for prospective Stakeholders; develop inclusive and sustainable Partnership initiatives with relevant stakeholders, (e.g. Community Based Organizations, and Legislative arm of Government, Development Partners, and Organized Private Sector and engage the Board of Trustees of the State Employment Trust Fund (ETF) on promoting wealth creation and employment.
One year down the line, evidence abounds that the Lagos State Government has been creating wealth in the midst of poverty. On May 4, 2017, the Wealth Creation and Employment Ministry presented its account of stewardship, how it has been creating wealth and making the people self-employed and others.
Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Babatunde Durosimi-Etti reeled out the achievement of his ministry in the last one year. The ETF appears to be one of the arrowheads of job creation by the ministry.
According to him, the ETF project focused on providing funding support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMESs) in Lagos State. He said the fund received 3,758 applications (2,304 MEs and 1,454 SMEs) in the first batch of the pilot project.
“The board approved 705 applicants (517 MEs and 188 SMEs) totaling N900, 137,078. The first beneficiaries were presented their offer letters recently. Each of the beneficiaries in the pilot phase received cheques ranging from N50, 000.00 to N5 million to grow and enhance their business and create jobs.
“For the second batch of the pilot project, the Fund received 1,937 applications (1,505 MEs and 432 SMEs). Out of these, the board approved 696 applicants (495 MEs and 201 SMEs) totaling N855, 338,037. The successful applicants have been contacted to meet the conditions that precede the disbursement of their loans. In fulfillment of the Lagos state mandate in wealth creation the fund has approved loans totaling N1.76 billion for 1, 401 beneficiaries,” he said.
Durosimi-Etti added that the fund launched its online application portal on February 24th 2017, which is Programme Application Loan Management –Portal (PALM- P). He said with PALM-P, the loan application process is now fully automated making it easy and convenient for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises based in Lagos State to send in their applications online and take advantage of the Fund’s loan programmes. He disclosed that since the launch, 932 applications had been created at the portal.
He added that the ministry had identified that MSMEs sector is faced with challenges in the area of access to market, inadequate or lack of finance and access to capacity development, saying that these challenges if not addressed could hinder the potentials of this sector.
“The ministry is collaborating with some organizations such as Messrs Service city, I ‘sabi’ works, Flutter Waves etc. with a view of proffering solution through the development of an online Portal which serves as an online Market place for artisans and Labour users on Registration, Recruitment & Training Backward Support, Compliance & Verification, Payment & Tax collection.
“Through this platform, certified Artisans that have been trained or re- certified by LASTVEB and MSMEs will have the opportunity of showcasing their products and services to the world,” he said.
On its Graduate Internship Scheme, the commissioner said the Ministry was planning a 3-month paid internship scheme for 2,000 recent graduates with a minimum of one year post N.Y.S.C as the programme is designed to give candidates an opportunity to develop employability skills which are often vital in securing employment.
“At the end of the 3- month’s programme the interns would have gained valuable applied work experience, build up their professional network and would have been exposed to possible niche entrepreneurial opportunities and strengthened their professional’s skills and interpersonal relationships in structured setting.
“The Ministry intends to partner with the National Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Nigerian Employers Consultative Association (NECA) whose members are spread across the state and can provide employability outlets for the Interns, taking cognizance of proximity to their residence. MacTay will subject shortlisted candidates to testing to complete the selection process in each Division,” he explained.
He also said the ministry organized capacity building for tradesmen and artisans. He added that the training was aimed at exposing artisans to modern training to enhance their operations and provide competitive advantage.
“In line with this the Ministry in collaboration with Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB) trained tradesmen and artisans in the state to enhance their productivity and upgrade their skills. A total number of 500 Artisans were retrained and certified. 1,500 Artisans are to be trained this year,” he stated.
As a means of boosting SMEs, he said the Ministry collaborated with Microsoft on Digital Literacy Workshop for 500 Artisans drawn from various Trades Associations in Lagos State. The programme, he said, was aimed at helping SMEs to master the opportunities in the digital age. The commissioner further said the Ministry is collaborating with West Africa Vocational Education Academy (W.A.V.E) in Employability Skill training for unemployed youth on Lagos Island, adding that Apapa, EtiOsa, Ikorodu and Ojo skill training would follow suit.
Durosimi-Etti stated that the Job Registration / Labour Exchange Centres (LECs), established by the government aimed at providing varieties of wealth creation and employment services with the state government giving focus on career counseling as a key activity of the LEC to enable aspiring youths pursue the right career choice according to their attitude and passion.
“The LEC offices in the five divisions are now fully functional with 22 guidance counselors. The LEC is to act as real exchange platform for Job seekers and employers,” he said.
Durosimi-Etti also said that the Ministry hosted the 2016 Stakeholders forum for Tradesmen and Artisans in Lagos State, saying that the target of the interactive forum was to stimulate greater interaction with the leadership and operators in the sector at various levels and also afford the state government the opportunity to identify problems bedeviling the sector.
According to him, some of the problems identified and being addressed by the government included obsolesce of equipment and skills of artisans, lack of access institutional finance and lack of institutionalized welfare/ Pensions scheme.
He added that the government would later in the year introduce the Education SMEs, which he said, was an essential social service that needed to be provided by the government, noting that given the increased population growth, the state was not able to meet the teeming demand of the populace.
He said as a result of this inadequacy, the private schools were filling the gap left by the government as part of the core responsibility of the ministry to create a veritable platform that encouraged sustainable entrepreneurial development with emphasis on collaboration with relevant agencies, while W-Holistic Business Solutions and DFID/ Developing Effective Private Education in Nigeria (DEEPEN) through sustainable Education & Enterprise Development (SEED) initiative is seeking to collaborate with the Ministry in supporting and building the capacity of 500- 1,000 affordable schools in the 20 Local Government Areas of the state over the next 3-5 years.
“The pilot scheme will commence with two hundred (200) private schools in (4) selected Local Government Areas in Lagos State,” he said.
Another achievement of the ministry was the convocation of its maiden 2-day stakeholders’ summit with the theme: “Strengthening partnership for Employment opportunities and wealth creation in a competitive environment” in the month of June.
According to Durosimi-Etti, the summit was aimed at seeking ways to redefine solution to the challenge of unemployment, deliberate and design ways to create the enabling environment for sustainable employment and wealth creation.
“The summit featured a plenary session presentation and technical sessions cutting across the four major sectors of the economy namely Agro Allied, Wholesale/ Retail, constructive Trade and SME/ Finance,” he said.