PwC Nigeria’s Chief Economist, Dr Andrew S. Nevin, believes the Nigerian Government needs to provide more economic stimulus to manufacturers in order to cushion the effects of COVID-19 on the economy. He disclosed this on Thursday, during a Tweet Chat with Nairametrics.
According to Nevin, more needs to be done by the government, even though the bailout package that has so far been provided is a step in the right direction. He stated that the Coronavirus pandemic portends serious economic implications. Unfortunately, Nigeria is just at the beginning phase of the disaster. And this is why more measures should be put in place to take care of the economic fallout that will ensue.
… so you now multiply this by a lockdown on 2 billion people and you realize the economic catastrophe this … and 🇳🇬 is literally just at the beginning of this phase. So while the FGN has done a very good job of getting on the issue, there will need to be more done …
— Andrew S. Nevin, PhD (@nevinomics) April 9, 2020
Recall that the Nigerian Government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, had provided a N1 trillion ballot package to support some key sectors of the Nigerian economy. The sum of N100 billion was also earmarked to assist health authorities in the fight against COVID-19, Blomberg reported.
During the course of the Tweet Chat, the PwC boss also pointed out other top priorities Nigeria should focus on at this point. According to him, the country should ensure consistent food supply, as well as provide assistance to the poorest of the poor in society. These have to happen quickly, he said, otherwise the country would “face a social disaster”.
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… for the economic challenge, 🇳🇬 needs to keep the food supply chain intact and to money to the bottom of the pyramid so the BoP can buy food … both of these have to happen or we will face a social disaster /
— Andrew S. Nevin, PhD (@nevinomics) April 9, 2020
When asked to recommend which sectors of the economy the government and investors need to focus on in order to ensure a speedy recovery from the COVID-19-induced recession, Nevin said:
“The FGN has already made 2 momentous changes since the crisis just a few weeks ago – devaluation and end of fuel price subsidy. So, I think there is a real sense in which the FGN realizes the future depends on people investing in Nigeria.”
As the Tweet Chat soon shifted to other topics, Nairametrics asked the PwC boss about Blockchain Technology, a subject matter he is quite passionate about. In Nigeria, regulatory authorities such as the CBN have so far been largely disinterested in this topic, as it is the case with other central banks across Africa. But is there a chance this might change soon? Nevin said he believes so.
According to him, central banks in countries like South Africa and Rwanda have already indicated interests to experiment with digital currency. And the thing about central banks in Africa that once one country adopts a policy, others typically follow suit. To this end, therefore, he believes that the adoption of Blockchain Technology by African central banks will happen sooner than expected. He also highlighted one of the advantages of Blockchain Technology, which is “an almost zero cost way of transferring value across Africa.”
If we had a almost zero cost way of transferring value within Africa 🌍 would be hugely valuable … I would like to see @afreximbank and @GroupEcobank @ecobank_nigeria lead Africa in developing blockchain x-border digital currencies … /
— Andrew S. Nevin, PhD (@nevinomics) April 9, 2020
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Note that the Institute of International Finance disclosed in a report that foreign investors recently pulled out as much as $83 billion from emerging markets, of which Nigeria is one. Nairametrics asked Nevin to comment on the implications of this and he said:
“But this is possible… Truth is that Europe economies are essentially shrinking as the population ages and declines. Very hard to earn a return. In Africa (Nigeria) we have young dynamic population that is growing and who want to consume. So capital should want to be here…”
You may read the Tweet Chat again by following the link below:
Welcome to the show Dr. Nevin! It’s a pleasure to have you.
— Nairametrics (@Nairametrics) April 9, 2020