Experts prescribe ways to avert recession, grow economy in 2023

 

By Helen Oji

• Seek repair of infrastructure, businesses damaged by flood
• Urge FG to communicate policy decisions to allay fears, inspire confidence
To tackle current stagflation in Nigeria and ensure sustainable economic growth in 2023, experts have

stressed the need for Federal Government to urgently repair infrastructure and businesses damaged by flood and ensure rural farm security.

Besides, they also called for increased support for industries to boost production and create more jobs. Vice President of Highcap Securities Limited, David Adonri, while speaking on how to attract new investment in the country by 2023, said one major imperative that would grow the economy in a sustainable manner next year is for government at all levels to urgently call for an assessment of the level of damages caused by the flood and take necessary steps to tackle it and curtail future occurrence.

According to him, the current flooding challenge is a threat to food security in the country as farms and farming communities have been cut off by flood and farm lands submerged in almost all the states in the country.

He called for more efforts from the apex bank towards ensuring that farmers benefit from the existing government’s agricultural schemes, as well as create fresh incentives to make their impact more meaningful at this critical time.

Adonri noted that heightened insecurity has already threatened food production in different parts of the country and has, to a significant level, pushed farmers off their farmlands.

This is exacerbated by the current war in Ukraine, which has made prices of goods to jump higher as Nigeria depends heavily on imported products and now the incidence of flooding.

To him, the most important measures that will stimulate activities in every sector of the economy and grow the market next year is commitment at the highest level to define and streamlined actions that will ensure food security, improve on the ease of doing business for sustainable productivity.

He added that these would help improve business activities in the country, create new businesses that will drive exports, alleviate poverty, and strengthen the nation’s economic fundamentals.

“For the Federal and state government to avert looming stagflation and stimulate growth in 2023, there is a need to speedily repair the damaged infrastructure and businesses caused by flood and restore rural and farm security.

” Again, government must stop wasteful and frivolous expenditures at this critical time and increase support to industrial and agricultural production. Crude oil production must be restored to over 2.5 million barrels per day. All public debt must also be restructured to reduce the debt burden.”

However, he warned that if urgent steps are not taken to ameliorate the situation, more Nigerians would become extremely poor due to poor purchasing power and heightening unemployment, a situation that would further hurt the economy.

Former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Uche Olowo said appropriate monetary and fiscal policy coordination would go a long way to mitigate stagflation and looming recession.

“Currently there is a slow down in output and employment. The reason is that the CBN in the whole world wants to curtail inflation because inflation makes the cost of funds to be high which would constrain growth and affect output and employment.

“Here, a balancing act is needed. While tightening the monetary policy, the CBN has to communicate policy decisions to allay fears and inspire confidence in the economy through price stability.

“Again, the government must focus more on areas where we have comparative advantage, especially in agriculture because these sectors will increase demand, employment and output.”

Furthermore, he also stressed the need for the government to reduce the debt profile and focus more on pipeline security to increase foreign exchange and grow indigenous firms.