The CEO of Plateau’s foremost marketing company, Ms Patience Bolcit Barshep shares an expert angle on how citizens and businesses can prepare for the effect of COVID-19 Virus that is ravaging the world and halting businesses worldwide.
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Sectoral approach to help us through this perilous economic pandemic times in Plateau State.
Commerce:
Companies are beginning to react by cutting down expenses, and by expenses I mean cutting down on jobs and salaries. This will lead to poor spending capacity by the people leading to another wave of poor revenues by companies.
The Government does not have bailout capacity and so many companies will go under.
Solution: The government needs to intervene by assisting MSMEs to secure COVID_19 loans from the CBN with a single digit interest rate. We need to begin to collate business data from the relevant miniatries and parastatals, PLACCIMA, PLASMIDA etc
Agriculture: The one sector that will not go into recession during the pandemic. We have over 2million people to feed in Plateau and well over 200 Million Nigerians that needs food on their table. There is concern over supply chain since most of their outlets within and outside the state are under lock. This is the period to increase our capacity in processing our rich agricultural produce into finished products.
Solution : A renewed push for economic diversification to ensure most of consumption are provided locally.
We need increase production and preserve our food. Making of chips from our potatoes, juice from mangoes, tea from Zogole, zoborodo tea, cassava flour etc
Above all, we need a Plateau Covid-19 Economic War room with Liberal brains full with fresh ideas on how to prepare for the effect of COVID-19.
Giving out palliative as food. Payment of civil servants salaries can only last for a short time then what next??
Let’s think outside the box and remember to stay safe.
Thank you
Bolcit Patience Barshep
Anista Marketing and Events limited
