CBN monetary policy to commercial banks: Edo govt calls for review

ABIODUN JIMOH, BENIN CITY

Edo State government has expressed that the Central of Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary policy has negatively affected the commercial bank’s interest rates to Small and Medium  Enterprises (SMEs).

The state Commissioner for Wealth Creation, Cooperatives and Employment, Hon. Emmanuel Usoh, made the call at the 17th Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) International Summit and Exhibition organized by the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) in Benin-City.

Usoh, who said the apex bank monetary policy still pegged interest rates at between 20 percent and 25 percent for commercial banks, noted that the high interest rates has made it difficult for SMEs to have access to loan.

“The monetary policy of Central Bank of Nigeria is not cascading down to commercial banks where interest rates still ranging  between 20 percent and 25 percent for commercial banks.

“The commercial banks interest rates are laced with cumbersome collateral facilities which has not helped the growth of small businesses in the country.

He also listed other challenges inhibiting the growth of SMEs in the country to include corruption, huge infrastructure deficits, lack of capacity building for small business owner, institutional and public reforms.

The commissioner added that, when there are adequate institutional and infrastructural reforms enabling environment would have been created for small businesses to thrive in the country.

Earlier, Degun Agboade, President, NASME, said the summit was the association’s modest contribution to the economic reforms being presently pursued by the federal government.

He said, the summit was geared towards focusing on critical policy issues that is expected to crystallize into the much awaited economic diversification agenda of the federal government of Nigeria.

Agboade added that the federal government economic agenda was to resuscitate the manufacturing sector of the economy by refocusing on areas of comparative advantage in agriculture and mineral resources to sustain real growth and development of the economy.

In his remark, the managing director of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Adebayo Somefun, represented by Stephen Bathana, general manager noted that SMEs is a key driving force in the nation’s economy.

Somefun disclosed that as part of its mandate of creating an enabling environment for small businesses to thrive added that workers of over 22,000 establishment  have been paid compensation since its establishment.

He also added that over 92,000 employees that have registered with the scheme, 55 workers rehabilitated and provided with artificial limbs, 428 disable workers while over 320 families were being paid benefits monthly.