Business
Medical Free Zone to save Nigeria about $1billion in annual medical tourism – NEPZA
NEPZA has stated that it is considering setting up 15 Medical Free zones in at least 15 states of the federation.
The Nigeria Exports Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) is thoughtfully considering setting up 15 Medical Free zones in at least 15 states of the federation, not minding the torrential pressures from the State governments lobbying to skew the location of the novel Medical Free Zones to their own states.
This disclosure was made by the Managing Director of NEPZA, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, when he was visited recently by the new President of the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Dr. Pamela Ajayi.
According to Prof. Adesugba, the Medical Free Zone is a novel concept and project that is intended to revolutionize the healthcare sector in the country. He said that a number of the Governors are jostling for their states to be selected, as they can see the full benefits of this project to their states and the health-care delivery systems.
“The push by these State governments shows acceptability of the project premised upon its viability. NEPZA is, therefore, considering if the project can be located in more than one state.”
He further said that the Federal Government through NEPZA is favourably disposed to siting the novel project in any state that meets all the requirements, as the Authority would not be willing to relax any of its guidelines in the process due to the sensitive nature of the sector.
What you should know
NEPZA is amenable to partner with relevant stakeholders to deliver the proposed world-class medical enclave to Nigerians.
The project is critically important as it would save about $1billion expended on medical tourism annually by Nigerians. It will provide Nigerians access to some of the best hospitals in the world, that our people spend huge sums of money in for treatments.
A total of 15 world-class foreign hospitals and a handful from within the country are expected to be part of this project to deliver impeccable services in 2021.
The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria and some of its affiliates are already buying into this great opportunity to invest in. When fully developed, the proposed Medical Free Zone would reposition the local health sector and enable the local operators to compete with themselves and their foreign healthcare providers.
Business
Digital ID will help drive financial inclusion – VP Osinbajo
FG to ensure a friendly business environment is created to promote ease of doing business in Nigeria.
Digital Identification is one of the keys to driving financial inclusion in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo during his facility visit to SecureID, a smart card manufacturing and digital solutions company, on Tuesday.
According to Osinbajo, Digital ID would help Nigerians, especially the ones that are not financially inclusive, operate in the global space.
He also assured entrepreneurs that the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration would ensure a friendly business environment is created to aid ease of doing business in Nigeria.
He said, “Environment must be friendly for local investors first before foreign investors come in. Today marks a momentous occasion in the history of the technology and manufacturing sector, and I am delighted to be a part of it.
“SecureID Limited has proved to us with this state-of-the-art manufacturing plant that local production of smart cards at the highest quality is not only viable in Nigeria but also brings a plethora of opportunities with it for Africa.
“I must commend this indigenous company for laying the precedent for other local manufacturers to follow. I must also congratulate the founder and CEO, Kofo Akinkugbe, who through her grit and passion to contribute to the growth of the economy, has committed innumerable resources and manpower to bring this factory to fruition.
“It warms my heart to see a woman take charge and create something indelible for other young women to emulate. She is an attestation to the fact that women are dependable collaborators in our quest for nation-building.”
The company, which recently bagged the esteemed Global System of Mobile Applications (GSMA) certificate making it the first in Nigeria and 3rd in Africa, also manufactures sim cards for telecom companies, loyalty cards for retail and security documents for public sector: driving license, national identity cards, international passports and more.
Osinbajo expressed confidence in the company to bolster local content and contribute to the growth of the economy, stating that the recent GSMA certificate and other global certificates bear glowing testimony to the level of high standards demonstrated in its production of first-rate smart cards in the country.
Speaking on the company’s recent milestone, Akinkugbe stated that SecureID strictly upholds high quality standards and protocols to manufacture an array of smart cards in line with global best practices, emphasizing that the company worked resolutely, to attain the GSMA certificate and other certificates.
According to her, the company is an attestation that local production of smart cards at the highest quality is possible in Nigeria.
“As an indigenous company, we are able to produce high quality SIM cards and at the same time, provide job opportunities for Nigerians. The government has seen it, its volume, value and growth, that we are able to contribute is something we would showcase and further prove that this can be done locally.
“On our journey, we sought and received support from many institutions, agencies, and initiatives that have been established to encourage startups SMEs and enterprises,” she said.
What you should know about SecureID
The company recently bagged the esteemed Global System of Mobile Applications (GSMA) certificate making it the first in Nigeria and 3rd in Africa. This is an addition to its other global certifications including Visa International, MasterCard Incorporated, Verve, Card Quality Management (CQM) and ISO 9001/2015 for Smart Card Manufacturing and Personalization of credit and debit cards for all banks in Nigeria and clients in 21 countries across Africa.
Business
FG proposes retirement age of 65 years for doctors
Ngige stated that the government wants to keep the nations health workers here in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Government has announced that it is proposing to increase the retirement age to 65 years for normal health workers and doctors, and 70 years for consultants, in a bid to keep health workers in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, in a meeting between the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PSC), relevant Federal Government stakeholders, Health Sector Professional Associations, and Trade Unions on Tuesday in Abuja.
READ: Return to work or we will invoke ‘no work, no pay’ – FG tells Resident Doctors
What Ngige is saying about the proposed retirement age for health workers
“We have taken their proposal. The government side will firm up its own proposal and we are reconvening June 1, so that we can have an agreed hazard allowance for health workers in Nigeria.
We also discussed the issue of retirement age for health workers, being that we want to keep our health workers here in Nigeria. A lot of people are coming here to poach and take away people we have trained at very great cost.
It takes a lot of funds to train a medical doctor, nurse or even a laboratory technologist or physiotherapist. So, we want to retain them here,” Ngige said.
READ: Minimum Wage: State Governments refusing to pay are breaching laws – Labour Minister
The Minister added that health workers could be retained for a longer period, citing a proposed retirement age of 65 for health workers and doctors and 70 years for consultants. He revealed that the FG had called back retired health workers during the pandemic, and delayed retirement age by six months for health workers to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
What you should know
The FG’s proposal to keep health workers is a complete u-turn from an earlier strategy, as Nairametrics reported in 2019 that the Labour Minister had said he was not bothered about the decision of some medical doctors who chose to leave Nigeria to practice outside the country.
