PROPERTY ARTICLES

Paint makers 'who gathered last week in Lagos for another round of stock -taking 'have expressed concern that a range of obstacles has considerably increased operating cost and is stalling the smooth conduct of their business.

First on the list 'they stated 'was the menace of adulteration as well as the production and sale of paints with high nuisance value.

"The survival and growth of the paints industry as well as the Nigerian economy depend largely on the production and merchandising of quality products that can compete anywhere in the world. Therefore 'the regulatory authorities should do everything possible to reduce the level of adulteration and faking of made -in -Nigeria paints to the barest minimum if it cannot be eliminated totally," declared Mr. Bola Olayinka 'president of the Paints Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMA) 'last week in Lagos during the group 's 22nd yearly general meeting.

Olayinka 'who is the managing director of DN Meyer Plc 'in a presentation that reviewed the past business year lamented that the sudden decline in crude oil prices and the resultant effects caught the Nigerian economy and the entire manufacturing sector unawares.

But he singled out the persisting energy crisis as a major drawback in the sector 'saying that there seemed to be no solution in sight.

"There is an urgent need for the government to completely revamp the power sector to stop the exodus of companies from the country to neighbouring countries. We appreciate the commitment of the Federal Government to increase power generation to 6,000 megawatts by December 2009 and to 10,000 megawatts in 2010.

"We however appeal to the government to keep its promise by ensuring that the targets are achieved. Nigerians have run on generators for too long and we cannot run an efficient industrialisation in the absence of electricity," the PMA boss stressed.

According to him 'as effort is being made to increase generation 'effort should likewise be made to explore alternative energy sources such as coal and nuclear power to reduce hitches arising from gas supplies.

Olayinka 'an accountant 'decried the deficient state of roads and public utilities 'even as he attributed this to poor maintenance culture. He disclosed that skyrocketing transport and haulage costs as well as cost of generating own electricity increased paint makers ' operating costs by over 40 percent.

He said '"It is rather unfortunate that we are yet to imbibe the culture of maintenance in this country. All existing roads and public utilities should be well maintained while we should embark less on new ones as income from oil decreases."

He prayed for the revival of the rail transport sector 'saying that the concessioning of the Lagos -Ibadan Expressway to private managers was okay if it would not be a burden to road users. Such a gesture should be extended to the notorious Lagos -Ore -Benin Road 'Olayinka suggested.

While frowning at the use of tax consultants and touts by some state governments to collect taxes 'the paint maker expressed reservations over the security situation in the country. He said that besides disarming and offering amnesty to Niger Delta militants 'government should commence various developmental projects in the areas neglected for decades through the newly created Niger Delta Ministry.

He called on government to revisit the issue of backward integration in all sectors of the economy 'saying '"The problem of low tariffs on imported finished paints impacted negatively on the operations of paints manufacturers as all sorts of low quality paints were allowed into the country. We appeal to the government to discontinue the granting of waivers to persons to import these low quality paints. It is evident that these imported low quality paints have failed on projects they were used.

"We suffer over 40 percent cost disadvantage while the importers have 40 percent cost advantage at duty rate of 20 per cent on their imports. Import duty on finished products should be reviewed upwards from 20 percent to 50 percent."

The paint manufacturer further called on government to build more houses in order to bridge the 17 million housing deficit in the country 'a step he noted would stimulate activities in the paint industry.

He called on the Lagos State Government to turn a new leaf and utilise good quality paint in its Clean Up and Beautification Campaign so as to reap the benefits of the programme.

Olayinka expressed the hope that the introduction of the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) would assist in reducing the menace of paint adulteration 'which he said had led to the erosion of his colleagues ' market shares and return on investments.

But he wants staffers of SON to undergo training on the technicalities of testing and certification of paint companies to avoid unqualified firms being erroneously certified.

SON Director -General 'Dr. John Akanya 'said that the development of qualitative paints that met the minimum requirements of various industrial standards elaborated for paints was critical to durability 'functionality and excellent performance.

Akanya 'represented by Mrs. O. B. Ayeni (a deputy director in SON) 'urged the paint makers to take a lead in various governments ' policies on urban renewal and showcase their products and make a mark.

According to him 'SON introduced MANCAP to ensure that all locally manufactured products conformed to the relevant Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS) before such products were presented for sale locally or exported.

"The scheme is designed to protect genuine manufacturers against unhealthy trade practices 'counterfeiting and unfair competition in the market place and to encourage investment," he declared 'pointing out that it involved the comprehensive assessment of production process 'product quality characteristics and performance test before the issuance of a conformance certificate.