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COVID-19: Lagos urged to establish funds for MSMEs

Editor Sunrise
Lagos

Lagos prohibits open cattle grazing, as Sanwo-Olu signs bill into law • Governor okays bill to end ‘cycle of gender-based violence’, appoints Exec. Sec Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, assented to the bill prohibiting Open Cattle Grazing and Trespass of Cattle on Land, signing the legislation into law 11 days after it was unanimously passed by the State House of Assembly and transmitted to the Executive arm for authorisation. By implication, it is now criminal in Lagos for cattle rearers to occupy unapproved public areas and private land with their livestock for grazing. The law also prohibits the act of moving cattle round public places by herders. The signing of the anti-open grazing law by the Governor followed the decision of Southern Governors’ Forum last August, setting the September deadline to pass the law across member States. There have been crises witnessed in some States, resulting from alleged open grazing. Although farmer-herder crisis is not pronounced in Lagos, the anti-open grazing law is expected to prevent the spillover of the menace into the State. Sanwo-Olu, who assented to the bill during the State’s Executive Council meeting in Alausa, directed the security agencies to swing immediately into action and enforce provisions of the law. He said: “By the powers vested in me as the Governor of Lagos State, I am signing the bill on Open Cattle Grazing and Trespass of Cattle on Land into law to prohibit issues associated with open grazing of livestock.” The Governor also signed legislation transforming the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) into a full-blown agency. The development coincided with the commemorative month dedicated to raising awareness on gender-based violence in the State. The Governor and members of the State’s cabinet wore attire with purple shades to support the campaign against sexual violence. The DSVRT legislation provides for the establishment of Sexual Offenders’ Register that would help the State efficiently tackle violations in the communities. After signing the law, Sanwo-Olu said: “Raising awareness about domestic and sexual violence is an important piece of working to end the cycle of violence. It is important to reiterate the State Government’s zero tolerance to all forms of sexual and gender-based violence. We will not rest on our oars until the menace is reduced to the barest minimum in Lagos.” The Governor appointed Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi as the Executive Secretary of the new agency. Vivour-Adeniyi was the coordinator of the response team before the legislation was signed into law.

 by Adeola Ogunlade

The Head, Agusto Consulting, Jimi Ogbobine has appealed to the Lagos State Government to establish Micro and Small Medium Enterprise (MSMEs) Grant Support Fund, especially in the hard-hit sectors of the state’s economy.

Ogbobine said this at the MSME Recovery Advocacy Project in Lagos State Implemented by The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) supported by The Pro-Poor Growth and Promotion of Employment in Nigeria- SEDIN of Deutsche Gesellschaff fur Internationale Zesammenarbeit (GIZ).

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The event brought together micro, small and medium scale business owners, government officials, industry players and representatives from The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund.

He said that  96% of businesses in Nigeria are Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and despite the large number of MSMEs in the State, the impact is yet to be fully felt as challenges and bottlenecks continue to plague the industry.

He said “the challenges ranges from inadequate funding and semi-skilled manpower to infrastructural deficits”.

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According to him, several MSMEs in the state have been decimated by the COVID-19 and recovery could largely depend on funding.

He noted that interest-bearing financing could further strain the finances of these MSMEs at this time, thus providing grants could be an alternative source of finance.

“A broad spectrum of firms can benefit, including micro-enterprises and SMEs with limited growth potential without adding to their debt levels”, he said.Ogbobine stressed that small business economic activities in Lagos have the potential to contribute largely to the growth of the non-oil sector, employment generation, and the creation of sustainable entrepreneurship.
He further called for the creation of the “Lagos COVID Business Council” that will engage with the State Government on providing targeted measures, short to medium term and interventions that will help address the challenges of the private sector due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

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He said “the bulk of the policy responses to the COVID pandemic has been on health interventions. The voice of private sector employers and workers need to be heard when designing, implementing and monitoring an economic recovery plan”.                           

“We would recommend that the Lagos State Government also creates a COVID Business Help Desk which would help co-ordinate the sourcing and disbursement of various funds and initiatives from the Central Government, MDAs and international partners aimed at COVID relief”.“To mitigate risks of bureaucracy and duplication of functions, we would recommend that this role is embedded within the mandate of the aforementioned Lagos COVID Business Council”, he said.

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In her words, The State Coordinator and Policy Advisor,  The Pro-Poor Growth and Promotion of Employment in Nigeria Programme- SEDIN, Chinazo Okoye called for transparent and effective public private partnership that will help to advance the course of the MSMEs in Lagos

She said that the public sector  and private sector players can work within the same state, so a strong collaboration is always encouraged.

She said “we are not an investment firm but we support any process that will get MSMEs to be investment ready.

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