President and Chief Executive Officer of General Electric GE, Mr. Lazarus Angbazo last week said that keying into the federal government’s transformation agenda has helped his company build blocks that would soon become the pillar of national development.
Part of the building blocks according to Angbazo included an appreciable technology transfer system and local content initiatives which have seen Nigerians doing at a cheaper rate, what ordinarily would have required expatriates, at a huge cost.
Angbazo said
the company owed all to the federal government’s foresight in giving GE partnership opportunity in the transformation agenda.Recall that in January 2013, GE, signed an agreement with the Federal Government of Nigeria to invest N157 billion ($1 billion) in the country over five years.
The funds were meant to be invested in a manufacturing factory that will help pursue Nigeria’s diversification objectives.
That agreement, according to Angbazo, has helped GE to expand manufacturing footprint which resulted in the establishment of an investment project in Calabar to the tune of $250 million.
According to him, “We are hoping that in 2016, we will have finished and launched. This will create over 2000 jobs directly and indirectly. Another area the agreement has helped us is in skill acquisition, training and capacity building. We have trained and engaged scores of Nigerians who are doing wonderful things now. It has saved us money that would have be expended on hiring expatriates,
“Again, our commitment to local content development is unwavering. We have developed relationship and partner many Nigerian companies which supply us various needs. Most of those things we would ordinarily have imported are today supplied to us from within and I think it’s all part of the benefits of the transformation agenda”
He also recounted exploits his company has made in other sectors of the economy including power, health and transportation sectors, saying those exploits make the company very proud and committed to the well being of the country.
Angbazo said that two of the major areas Nigerians should understand with and support government are on transformation of the power and rail systems.
According to him,”You cannot sustain a 7 percent GDP growth without developing the rail system. You cannot properly harness potentials of the country’s agricultural prowess without linking the north on rail with other parts of the country where major crops are produced. That is why I feel that the transformation agenda on these areas are on point.
These will bring about proper industrialization of the country.
“The problem with the power sector is that everybody seems to want everything to work like magic. Much as I do not blame Nigerians for their high expectations on the transformation of power in the country, I must say that it is not easy to turn around the power sector. There is a lot to do, so much to understand and also a lot of time needed to be able to apply what has been understood.
Building infrastructure takes time. It’s not buying and selling. The regulatory framework, the tariff, and all must be in place. To repair a turbine takes a year, to build a power line takes at least 5 years, even in America. But we can only say that we are close to getting it right. There may, however, be issues, here and there, but I can say the momentum is there and we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. He added.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/tech-transfer-holds-key-national-development-general-electric/#sthash.rwqIYp7M.dpuf
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