- FG Breaking Local Content Policy, Say Cable Manufacturers
The Cable Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has urged the government to enforce the local content policy, particularly in the cable manufacturing sector.
According to the President, CAMAN, and Chief Executive Officer of Cutix Plc, Mr. Ifeanyi Uzodike, indigenous cable manufactures have not been patronised by the Federal Government,
Speaking at the executive business meeting with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria in Lagos on Tuesday, Uzodike stated that a study of the beneficiaries of orders by the Rural Electrification Agency or most of the independent power plant projects showed that indigenous manufacturers in Nigeria were hardly patronised.
He said it was disheartening that government had put in place a local content policy, which it had neither obeyed, nor enforced.
He also noted that local cable manufacturers were not consulted to contribute to the formulation of the local content policy.
According to Uzodike, any local content policy that does not take into consideration inputs from major stakeholders cannot be a good policy.
He stated that there was the need for a viable local content policy, and other strong legislations to curb the influx of substandard wires and cables in Nigeria.
Uzodike called on the government to attend to the issue with utmost priority, stating that the rate of labour turnover in the industry was high as a result of low sales.
CAMAN presented a vehicle to SON to facilitate its monitoring and enforcement mechanisms as well as promote the survival of the indigenous cable industry.
The Managing Director, Coleman Wires and Cables, Mr. George Onafowokan, said the cable market was flooded with adulterated wires and cables brought in from other countries, which he noted as posing a threat to the survival of their business.
He urged the government to introduce special taxes on imported finished wires and cables with a strong legal department for prosecution of defaulters.
He also said government should issue permits to genuine cable manufacturers to curb the influx of adulterated cable.
In response, the Director-General, SON, Mr. Osita Aboloma, who was represented by the Director, Inspection and Compliance Department, SON, Mr. Bede Obayi, urged cable manufactures to imprint product identification marks on their goods in a way that it would not be able to forge.
Obayi said if there were PIMs, purchasers would be able to differentiate fake from original products.
He urged the manufacturers to open up more stores and branches in other locations of the country, and increase their distribution network in order not to discourage fake products from penetrating the market.
Obayi said they would make judicious use of the vehicle presented to them, put in place monitoring mechanisms to curb sharp practices, stressing that if everyone played their part, Nigeria would advance to the next level.
