By Jerome-Mario Utomi
Recently, the Director General of the Delta Investment Development Agency (DIDA), Anthony Elekeokwuri, called on serious-minded local and foreign investors to take advantage of the state government’s ease of doing business package.
While noting that the creation of DIDA was instructive of the seriousness attached to fully exploring the investment potentials of the state as MORE agenda of the Sheriff Oborevwori administration had lots of investment opportunities to explore, Tony who made the call in Asaba, the state capital, reportedly assured of a conducive environment to do business in the state, adding that government would assist in land acquisition, provision of safety, ensuring cordial relationship with host communities, as well as grant tax waiver to prospective investors.
Without labour, the most telling evidence that renders the present call by Tony as understandable and validly important is critically signposted in the fact that it is within the preview of DIDA to use every creative means to revive the moribund industries in the state, and if achieved, will create massive employment opportunities in ways that will end the protracted youth unemployment which seems to have visibly defiled every solution in the past.
This is closely followed by the new awareness that the role of the private sector in driving investment and the economy can no longer be substituted as the crushing weight of infrastructural provision and economic diversification has become too heavy for the government alone to carry.
In fact, this second point becomes more appreciated when one commits to mind that the call to development-minded agencies for productive collaboration between private and public sectors on the global stage has become a lingua franca of the sort. A typical example of this fact is the 2030 Sustainable Agenda, which loudly encourages the private sector to partner with the public sector in areas such as; agriculture, oil and gas, power generation, and environmental remediation among others.
However, beyond these peripheral advantages coupled with the accompanying promise by DIDA Boss that the government would assist in land acquisition, provision of safety, ensuring cordial relationship with host communities, as well as grant tax waiver to prospective investors, there are in the opinion this piece, other critical steps that must first be taken by DIDA and state government for critical minds to take the state government seriously in its present bid.
To attract investors, the state government must do more in the area of security provision as it has the capacity to promote an atmosphere of peace, enhance profitability in business, and assist investment to thrive while attracting new ones. For clarity, it is not as if the state has not done anything in the past to secure the state. But looking at commentaries, it is obvious that the state government needs to do more in the interest of Deltans and prospective investors.
The reason for the above demand by this author is not farfetched. It is a well-known truth that as unchained torrents of water submerge the whole countryside and devastate crops, even so, the absence of security within the state will serve to destroy investments and chase away potential investors. This is a reality confronting the state of which the state government must look into and act very fast.
Again, catalysing this needed partnership with the private sector in the race for massive industrialization and economic development of the state will in the opinion of this author, call for a higher level of transparency on the part of the government. Transparency will remain the cornerstone as it will increase the confidence expected by these interventionists’ private sectors who may not be disposed to invest in an environment that is devoid of transparency and accountability.
In a similar vein, to succeed in the present vision, it is important for the state to openly admit and adopt both structural and managerial changes if achieving this agenda is at the centre of our goal. This, to me, will necessitate the state-welcoming approaches that impose more leadership discipline than conventional, and creating government institutions that are less extractive but more innovative in operation.
This shift in action is important as we cannot solve our socio-economic challenges with the same thinking we used when we created it. This time is auspicious for the state government to bring a change in leadership paradigm by switching over to a leadership style that is capable of making successful decisions built on a higher quality of information while dropping the age-long mentality which presents execution as more important than idea incubation.
Very instructive also, finding solutions to other societal problems that hinder business growth in the state and developing a climate of sustainable future and innovation is another critical part of the assignment that needs disciplined attention on the part of the state government if this present call by DIDA is to be achieved.
To make this call and the existence of DIDA most rewarding in the state, this piece holds the opinion that the agency need not wait for local, national or international investors before they act. Tony and his agency must start where they are and with what they have, particularly as the state is dotted with moribund establishments that they can restart without delay. The state must take action as a practical demonstration of sincerity convincing enough for investors to jump in.
As an incentive, a few kilometres away from DIDA’s corporate office is the now-rested Delta state-owned textile mill popularly known as Asaba Textile Mill.
While Deltans wait, one thing is sure, if these establishments are revived, it will appreciably create huge employment and positively add visibility to the reputation of the present administration in the state.
The state government must do this not for political reasons but for the survival of the state’s economy and guarantee the future of her youths. For his part, the state governor must not fail to remember that: “We are in a dire state of strait because unemployment has diverse implications. Security-wise, a large unemployed youth population is a threat to the security of the few that are employed. Also worth committing to mind is Development Professionals’ admonition that any transformation agenda that does not have job creation at the centre of its programme will take us nowhere.”
As we know, youth challenge cuts across, regions, religions, and tribes, and has in the past led to the proliferation of ethnic militia as well as youth restiveness across the country. It is only by engaging these teeming youths through employment creation that the incessant youth restiveness could be abated.
Jerome-Mario, a journalist, writes from Lagos via [email protected]/08032725374