How 42 companies crashed in five years
By John Ameh, Onitsha
Published: Monday, 13 Aug 2007
A total of 42 industries folded up in Anambra State between 1998 and 2003 due to tough operating environment, investigations have shown.

Our correspondent gathered on Monday, that the industries closed operations in the major towns of Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi, due to a number of factors, the foremost of which was “irregular power supply.”[/color][color=#990000]
The hardest hit town was Onitsha, where 21 factories folded up.

In Nnewi, the second largest commercial town in the state, six factories shut their operations, while in Awka, 15 did within the period.

According to the 2007 Anambra State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy document, which our correspondent obtained on Monday, manufacturing companies blamed their inability to survive on other factors.

These included lack of pipe-borne water, official corruption, low patronage as well as poor management and cultural influences.

“Access to credit is also a problem but was not ranked high and could be taken care of by them if the appropriate authorities handled the other major problems”, the document revealed.

The collapse of the industries reportedly came to light following a study conducted on 115 manufacturing industries in the state in 2004 by the state’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.

It was learnt that as at January 1998, there were 28 factories in Awka, but by 2003, 15 of them had folded up, leaving only 13 surviving.

In the case of Onitsha, the state’s largest commercial base, the number of factories in 1998 was 143. By 2003, 21 of them had shut down their operations leaving 122.

In Nnewi, there were 42 factories operating in 1998, but the figure dropped to 36 in 2003 after six of them folded up.

The three towns had a total of 213 industries in 1998, 42 of which collapsed, leaving only 171 surviving five years later in 2003.

The collapse of the industries expectedly led to job losses and further worsened the unemployment crisis.

The document noted that government and its officials were under increased pressure to address the factors that led to the closure of the industries.

“The problems hindering the industrial sector needs to be addressed to enable the sector perform its role optimally to alleviate the sufferings of the people.

“The youths mostly affected are school leavers at all levels, who are roaming the streets seeking jobs that are non-existent”, it added.

@ Topic

I totally agree with you. These corrupt politicians should be given the same punishment as armed robbers and murderers

Imagine someone in a sharia state being stoned to death just cos he was too hungry and stole a tuber of YAM, people who are the cause of the hunger are let off the hook with a pat on the back.

Imagine someone like Chimaroke Nnamani in the Senate. A confirmed criminal. What kinda laws does a thief wanna make?

Imagine Alams with all the atrocities he committed, let off the hook with just like that!

What msg are they sending to the new governors? they'r simply tellin them they can loot all they want and eventually get away with it even if they'r "caught"

Till they start prosecuting these thieves, the anti-corruption fight, to me, is non-existent!

What punishment are you people talking about here?

Even Obsanjo who brought out the EFCC to tackle corrupt leaders, is corrupt himself. All the ex police IGs we’ve experienced so far in this are all corrupt all the past senate presidents and all past governors are all corrupt.

So the question is can a dog eat a dog? I don’t think so.

Fraudulent Government officials should be castrated and hung to dry in the Sun. Why?, Cos they dont deserve mercy and because it will make us, the future leaders learn from their ordeal, hence sit tight and be upright when we get into the Government.Sice, obviously, the National cake has an enticing flavour and could waver a man's footsteps when he gets to the position of taking a bite.

Dat's y u c politicians killing and maiming during election. All of them, i mean ALL deserves 2 b allu-ized.

Nice