Delta State Government is to establish ten (10) industries this year to promote Medium and Small Scale Enterprise in the state.
Announcing this during a Town Hall Meeting with owners of SME’s in Asaba, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan listed the industries to include four Fish Feed Mills and six Cassava Processing Plants.
He said government would establish the industries but they would be managed by private investors to make them viable and ensure efficient management.
Dr. Uduaghan who also announced that the state government would set up Small Industrial Parks in urban centers in the state with emphasis on the establishment of Industrial Parks for shoe manufacturers in the state.
He disclosed that his administration has made adequate arrangement to partner with Germany on Youth Development Program where the youths would acquire technical skills on various fields of endeavour.
He therefore gave assurance that infrastructures would be provided at various Industrial Parks to encourage investors to establish Industries.
The Governor said that the state has acquired 130 transformers and expressed the hope that when distributed the current epileptic supply of power would be checked.
Dr. Uduaghan asked the business community to invest and take risk explaining that the state has a lot of potentials which they could explore.
In an opening address, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry Mr. Kingsley Emu explained that the One Billion Naira Loan to SME’s in the state was provided for by the state government and the Bank of Industry (BOI)
He stated that the Ministry recorded about 80% default after the disbursement of 20% of the One billion naira loan noting that the Ministry had stopped further disbursement to map out strategies on how to improve on the process.
Mr. Emu highlighted the reasons for the default by Co-operative Societies to include lack of ability to appropriately manage the loan and lack of adequate monitoring and supervision by the Financial Institutions.
Speaking further, he observed that strategies have been put in place to ensure that the process of disbursement and refunding of the loan was improved upon to benefit more Deltans.
“One of the strategies, we have put in place is to encourage banks to assist SMEs with funds and reduce their interest rate to enable them pay back within the stipulated period of two years.
One of the participants enumerated the problems they are facing as Small & Medium Scale Entrepreneurs to include epileptic power supply, high interest rate charged on the loan by Banks and equipping Vocational Centers in the state.