Ibrahim Chonoko
15 November 2009
Abuja — The Kano state government is placing more emphasis on the private sector in its business and developmental policies and programs, according to the state commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Alhaji Ahmed Yakasai
The commissioner, who stated this in an interview with the Daily Trust in London, said the strategy was in line with the dictum that 'government has no business in businesses' other than to provide a suitable atmosphere for businesses to thrive.
Yakasai, who represented Governor Ibrahim Shekarau at this year's World Travel Market held at the London ExCel Centre, said it was in recognition of the vital role of the private sector in development that most of the projects being executed by the state government were done on public-private partnership (PPP) basis.
"The state government believes in public-private partnership, and that is why most of our development projects are private sector- driven," he said. He said the vigorous implementation of the state's five core development areas has started yielding positive results as the state was making appreciable impacts on commerce, agriculture, information and communication technology (ICT) and tourism, amongst other sectors.
The five core areas, he said, included High Quality Education, Agricultural Development, Commerce and Information Technology, Empowerment of Youth and Women, and Internal Revenue Generation.
He, however, said the problem of power supply was hindering the state government's efforts on industrial development, disclosing that some industries in the state "are closing down, some are running below capacity, while others are comatose". To ameliorate the situation, he said, the state government entered into an agreement with a Chinese company and Dangote Group to provide 126 megawatts and 25 megawatts respectively under the Independent Power Program. On agriculture, he said the government was working with consultants from Malaysia on mass production of rice and irrigation, adding that more than six billion naira has so far being spent on the project.
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