By Omamuzo Efidhere
LAGOS MARCH 1ST (URHOBOTODAY)-In bid to protect and promote the rights and interest of private business owners, President of Ughelli Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, (UCCIMA) Arch. Alfred Avwaruroro has appealed Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa to create a more enabling environment for business to thrive.
According to him, “We appreciate the fact that he has made some efforts on road development but we still need more roads to the hinterland where agriculture is the basic industry, so that goods and products can get to the urban areas where they will be consumed. He should also look into the issue of poor epileptic power supply in the urban areas. This is not good for economic growth as many businesses have closed down as a result of the cost of running generators from dawn to dusk.”
He charged all private business owners to register their businesses in the relevant trade groups in their locality.
Avwaruroro, who spoke while addressing the over 70 participants of the 19thharmattan workshop held at Dr. Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation Centre in Agbarho-Otor, noted that in order for the private sector to drive the economy and have economic growth, all businesses must be registered in the organized private sector.
In his words “our economic backwardness is based on nothing less than ignorance. There are a lot of funds, CBN funds, International Organisation funds that can be tapped into to get a booming economy but the wherewithal to tap into them is lacking because the private business owners are not aware of them. Even when they are aware of them, the qualification to access the funds is not there.
“That is why we are preaching100 percent collaboration. That, all private business owners belong to a trade group. What do we do in the organized private sector, we fellowship regularly. The various trade groups bring their reports and challenges so they can be discussed and solutions proffered.
On his part, Director of the Harmattan Workshop, Prof. Sam Ovraiti, stated that the workshop was a yearly gathering of artist from different part of the world to experiment and create art. “Aside those registered we give scholarship yearly to 25 people drawn from Niger-Delta to study woodwork, stone carving, bead making, textile, painting, leather work(shoes and bags), computer, photography, and print making. What we do here is to expose people to avenues of becoming useful to themselves”
Continuing he called on government and well meaning Nigerians to sponsor more youths for training in the centre as they had all the required facilities to accommodate them. In his words “government should stop using billions of naira to print bill boards. Rather invest some of this money in human capital development where you can train people and get them off the street. We need the wealthy people in the society to support, the support is not usually so big just sponsor three people, let them come and learn something and that is what matters as we have the facilities,”
Highpoint of the two weeks long training was the presentation of the sum of two hundred thousand naira raised by the director, facilitators and the over 70 participants of the 19thharmattan workshop to two staff members Erakpoweri Precious, Erakpoweri Joy to enable them start their hair dressing salon business.