By Chijioke Okoronkwo

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, received  Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who updated him on the progress so far in the implementation of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP).

Osinbajo’s spokesman Laolu Akande in a statement said it was the duo’s first official meeting for the year.

Buhari had in 2020 mandated Osinbajo, as chair of the Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC), to coordinate the implementation of the ESP aimed at cushioning the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The vice president said that three months into the implementation of different components of the ESP: MSMEs Survival Fund; Social Housing Scheme, and Solar Home System, among others, Nigerians across different sectors had been impacted.

He said that under MSMEs Survival Fund, more Nigerians had received Payroll Support payments, Artisans and Transport Grants.

“For the Payroll Support track of the Survival Fund, a total of 277,628 beneficiaries drawn from 56,575 businesses have now been paid.

“This total number includes the batch of 20,614 beneficiaries recently paid for October, and 257,014 beneficiaries that were paid for November and December.

“A breakdown of the 257,014 beneficiaries shows that N30, 000 each was paid to 222,466 beneficiaries as November and December payments while N50, 000 each was paid to 34,548 beneficiaries as November and December salaries.

“Out of the total number, three per cent are beneficiaries with special needs, while 43 per cent are female employees/beneficiaries.’’

Osinbajo said that the enumeration of prospective beneficiaries for the Transport Support Track, which was launched in Dec. 2020, was still ongoing.

According to him, payment of N30,000 each one-time grants to 333,000 artisans across the country is in progress with payments already made to verified beneficiaries in states under streams 1, 2, and 3.

He listed the states as FCT, Lagos, Ondo, Kaduna, Borno, Kano, Bauchi, Anambra, Abia, Plateau and Delta under stream 1.

Others are Taraba, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Edo, Ogun, Ekiti, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Enugu, and Ebonyi under stream 2.

Also, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Zamfara, Yobe, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Niger, Imo, Oyo, Osun, Jigawa, Gombe and Benue under stream 3.

The vice president said that the Solar Home System aimed at connecting five million households in off-grid and underserved communities to electricity was ongoing.

“The process of installing N140 billion Solar Home System that will cover up to five million households has begun and serve about 25 million individuals in rural areas and urban communities has begun with the enlistment of solar assembling companies and components manufacturers as well as solar servicing firms.

“Under the scheme, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will make available funds to private companies involved in the manufacture, installation, servicing of the solar systems, at rates ranging between five and 10 per cent.

“An important aspect of the scheme is the option of outright ownership by beneficiaries at a cost ranging from N1,500 per week to N4,000 monthly depending on the capacities, for a period of  years.’’

He said that construction, under the Social Housing Prototype Units launched in FCT, was set to start in 12 states.

According to him, the plan by the Federal Government to support 1.5 million Nigerians to acquire low-cost houses Under the Social Housing programme of the ESP was on course.

He said that the portal for application by prospective beneficiaries was launched in December 2020 alongside the prototype 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units.

More so, the vice president, held a virtual meeting with management of the North East Humanitarian and Innovation Hub (NEHIH).

Osinbajo pledged the support of the Federal Government and the National Economic Council (NEC) in the establishment of a Social Innovation and Research Institute (SIRI), an initiative of NEHIH aimed at developing skills and building capacity for social innovation.

The vice president said that the idea of establishing a centre for social innovation as conceived by the NEHIH was commendable.

“I don’t think there is enough attention being paid to the local needs of social innovation.

“ I really think that this proposed institute can do enough in terms of capacity building and leveraging on ideas, and also making a lot of the innovations relevant to our demands and needs here in Nigeria,” he said.

Other participants at the meeting included the coordinator of the Hub, Mr Ahmad Moddibo, the SIRI project coordinator at the hub, Nguveren Mary, among others. (NAN)

By Folasade Akpan

The World Bank says global economy is expected to grow by 4 per cent in 2021, assuming an initial COVID-19 vaccine rollout becomes widespread throughout the year.

It said this in a statement issued in Washington D.C. on Tuesday at the presentation of the January 2021 Global Economic Prospects.

It added that the said recovery would likely be subdued unless policy makers moved decisively to tame the pandemic and implement investment-enhancing reforms.

The bank also said that growth in Sub-Saharan Africa was forecast to rebound moderately to 2.7 per cent in 2021, while Nigeria’s growth was expected to resume at 1.1 per cent.

For the region, it said that while the recovery in private consumption and investment was forecast to be slower than previously envisioned, export growth was expected to accelerate gradually, in line with the rebound in activity among major trading partners.

“Expectations of a sluggish recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa reflect persistent COVID-19 outbreaks in several economies that have inhibited the resumption of economic activity.

“The pandemic is projected to cause per capita incomes to decline by 0.2 per cent  this year, setting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) further out of reach in many countries in the region.

“This reversal is expected to push tens of millions more people into extreme poverty over last year and this year,” it stated.

For Nigeria, it said activity was anticipated to be dampened by low oil prices, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quotas, falling public investment due to weak government revenues, constrained private investment due to firm failures and subdued foreign investor confidence.

It, however,  said that the rebound in Africa was expected to be slightly stronger, although below historical averages among agricultural commodity exporters, adding that higher international prices for agricultural commodities were expected to sustain activity.

Projecting risks for the region, it said that they were tilted to the downside as growth in major trading partners could fall short of expectations.

It said that wide scale distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine in the region would likely face many hurdles, including poor transport infrastructure and weak health systems capacity.

“Such constraints, compounded by natural disasters such as recent devastating floods and rising insecurity, particularly in the Sahel, can  delay recovery.

“Government debt in the region has increased sharply to an estimated 70 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020,  elevating concerns about debt sustainability in some economies.

“Banks may face sharp increases in non-performing loans as companies struggle to service their debt due to falling revenues.

“Lasting damage of the pandemic can  depress growth over  long term through the chilling effects of high debt on investment, the impact of lockdowns on schooling and human capital development, and weaker health outcomes,” it said.

On the global scene, it said that to support economic recovery, authorities also needed  to facilitate a re-investment cycle aimed at sustainable growth that was less dependent on government debt.

It however,  said that the collapse in global economic activity in 2020 was estimated to have been slightly less severe than previously projected, mainly due to shallower contractions in advanced economies and a more robust recovery in China.

“In contrast, disruptions to activity in the majority of other emerging markets and developing economies were more acute than expected,” it said.

David Malpass, the bank’s President said that while the global economy appeared to have entered a subdued recovery, policymakers faced  formidable challenges as they tried  to ensure that this still fragile global recovery gained traction and sets a foundation for robust growth.

“To overcome the impacts of the pandemic and counter the investment headwind, there needs to be a major push to improve business environments, increase labor and product market flexibility and strengthen transparency and governance,” it said.

The report said that the near-term outlook remained highly uncertain and different growth outcomes were still possible, adding that a downside scenario in which infections continued to rise and the rollout of a vaccine  delayed,  could limit the global expansion to 1.6 per cent in 2021.

Meanwhile, it said that in an upside scenario with successful pandemic control and a faster vaccination process, global growth could accelerate to nearly five per cent.

Examining the amplified risks of the pandemic, it said that as severe crises did in the past, the pandemic was expected to leave long lasting adverse effects on global activity.

“It is likely to worsen the slowdown in global growth projected over the next decade due to underinvestment, underemployment and labor force declines in many advanced economies.

“If history is any guide, the global economy is heading for a decade of growth disappointments unless policy makers,  put in place comprehensive reforms to improve the fundamental drivers of equitable and sustainable economic growth.

“Policymakers need to continue to sustain the recovery, gradually shifting from income support to growth-enhancing policies,” it further said.

It added that in the longer run, in emerging markets and developing economies, policies to improve health and education services, digital infrastructure, climate resilience, and business and governance practices would  help mitigate the economic damage caused by the pandemic, reduce poverty and advance shared prosperity.

The bank said that in the context of weak fiscal positions and elevated debt, institutional reforms to spur organic growth were particularly important. (NAN)