Hand Over Refineries to Private Sector and Be Better Off, PwC Tells FG via thisdaylive
*Report: Nigeria’s CEOs highest paid in AfricaThe federal government has been advised to handover its refineries and other commercially viable projects to the private sector in order to reduce its debts and earn more revenue from the assets. The government was also advised to prepare for the future by investing more in human capital development in order to position its citizens as exportable ‘products’ and boost diaspora remittances.
He said, “I have my issues with the Federal Executive Council that is just approving projects and contracts when we should be looking at more strategic issues to deal with in the economy. I do think that the amount of money we are spending on projects that are commercially unviable is unbelievable. “They will make money. They will run them efficiently and pay taxes to the government. This is what we should do. It will not only reduce our debt and the cost of servicing them, it will also increase the overall efficiency of the economy.”
Nervin, in his own contribution, advised the Nigerian government to drive export and diversification of the economy through the service sector and human capital development. He added that climate change would be a serious matter for Nigeria, and Lagos, especially, as the temperature is increasing and the sea level is rising.
A Bloomberg report had also noted that chief financial officers in Africa’s biggest economy were among the best paid in the region, with median earnings of $219,000, according to PwC. A separate analysis of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange showed a median pay of 5.17 million rand for chief executives across all industries and 3.34 million rand for chief financial officers, according to the consultancy.