|
Good governance, reforms can attract FDI
in Nigeria, says UNCTAD
By
Ntai Bagshaw
Development Reporter,
Lagos
As
Nigeria strives to garner a substantial share of global foreign direct
investment (FDI) transfers, the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) has warned that without practical step at instituting good
governance and economic reforms, the much-need FDI into the country will remain
elusive.
This
consensus was reached as heads of investment promotion agencies, corporate executives,
international experts, government representatives and NGOs meet in Geneva,
Switzerland, last week to examine the question of what constitutes good
governance in investment promotion and how public governance can be improved.
“Many governments in developing countries have been working to address
public governance issues, and there is increasing interest in promoting reforms
as a means to create a more stable, transparent and predictable environment
that helps attract foreign direct investment (FDI),” UNCTAD said. Recent
reports and survey by multilateral agencies and NGOs show that Nigeria 's
policy framework for investment, including its legislative framework,
governance structure, infrastructure and other sectoral issues, are still
flawed and underdeveloped.
Participants
stressed the importance of effectively addressing the problems of existing
investors, as well as the key role of investment promotion agencies in ensuring
that the investor community is consulted on matters that affect them. In Nigeria,
existing investors under the aegis of the Organised Private Sector, comprising
the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), National Association of
Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and Nigerian
Employers Consultative Association (NECA), have consistently lamented against
the gross inconsistency of government policies and poor operating environment
for businesses to thrive. The challenge of inefficient and inadequate
infrastructure still lingers, alongside the menace of multiple taxes.
The
expert meeting, which took place under the aegis of UNCTAD’s programme on
good governance in investment promotion (GGIP), sought to find ways of helping
least developed countries (LDCs) build national capacity to develop and uphold
good governance in investment promotion and facilitation.
The
experts assessed the role of national investment promotion agencies in
improving governance in the public and private sectors and identified policies
and practices that enhance good governance in investment promotion based on
national examples, the experience of UNCTAD programmes and those of other
organisations and input from participants. In an address at the meeting, Dr.
Wan-Soon Kim, Investment Ombudsman of the Republic of Korea, described how his
country’s unique effective grievance resolution procedures and services
have helped encourage substantial re-investment by existing investors.
Despite a sharp reduction in FDI inflows, the share of
re-investment in Korea increased from $3.2 billion in 2002 to $4.0 billion in
2003.
|
