Mining industry : PwC urges the removal of roadblocks
PwC Nigeria has identified the removal of roadblocks in the value chain as critical to increasing the mining sector’s contribution to GDP, and to achieving Nigeria’s revenue diversification drive. The leading professional services firm made this known at the opening ceremony of the 4th annual Nigeria Mining Week, which held on 15 October 2019 at the NAF Conference Centre, Kado, Abuja.
In his welcome address, Pedro Omontuemhen, Country Operations Officer & Energy Utilities and Resources Leader PwC Nigeria, noted that while the mining industry has recorded key success, especially with regards to limestone, there is scope for the industry to increase its overall contribution to Nigeria’s GDP.
On his part, Cyril Azobu, Partner and Mining Sector Leader PwC Nigeria, who was the moderator for the opening ceremony, noted that the theme of this year’s Nigeria Mining Week is “Lifting the roadblocks along the value chain of the mining sector” reiterating further that removing roadblocks from the value chain in Nigeria’s mining industry will unlock the inherent value and increase the sector’s overall contribution to Nigeria’s economy.
While delivering his Ministerial Address, Honourable Minister of Mines and Steel, OlamilekanAdegbite, noted that thoughmining has a significant role to play in the diversification of Nigeria’s economy, the sector is still classified as non-performing.
According to the Honourable Minister: “The Roadmap for the Growth and Development of the Nigerian Mining Industry provides us a broad pathway for the transformation of the industry. The ministry does not intend to deviate from the laid down implementation trajectory except if it becomes exceedingly imperative to take certain actions that could fast track the reforms.
The Federal Government in re-launching the economy on the path of inclusive and sustainable growth came up with the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP).
This plan is aimed at increasing national productivity and achieving sustainable diversification of the economy. Mining has been identified in the ERGP as a promising sector that could sufficiently contribute to the diversification of the revenue base, create jobs and broaden the range of opportunities in the Nigerian Economy.”
Also speaking at the opening ceremony, the President of the Miners Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Kabir MohammedKankara, noted that a lot of progress had been made since the last conference with the Ministry addressing a lot of the issues raised by industry stakeholders.
He however called for more efforts to be made in tackling the challenges miners face, especially with regards to the difficulty in accessing adequate and accurate data. Addressing this challenge will give local and foreign investors the confidence to invest in the sector.
The Nigeria Mining Week is a three-day event organised by the Miners Association of Nigeria in partnership with PwC Nigeria and Spintelligent. The event kicked-off on the 14 October 2019 with a Pre-conference which was focused on Finance and Investment. And as with previous editions, the4thedition of Nigeria Mining Week was well attended with delegates from established mining territories across the globe as well as local players, equipment manufacturers, financiers, and policy makers from the Legislature, the State and Federal governments.
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