RMAFC pledges more funding for the solid minerals sector

ABUJA (RMAFC News)

The Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has pledged more funding for the development of the solid minerals sub-sector of the Nigerian economy to make it more viable and serve as alternative source of revenue for the nation.

The Chairman of the Commission, Elias Mbam made this pledge recently in Abuja when he received a high-powered delegation from the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development led by the Minister, Musa Mohammed Sada.

Elias Mbam observed that for the sector to perform optimally in line with global best practices, it requires more funding windows in form of a long term finance to reduce over reliance on the annual budgetary provisions and increase in the quantum of revenue into the Federation Account. He explained that under the current revenue allocation formula, the solid minerals sector is a beneficiary of the 1.6 percent of all distributable revenue from the Federation Account as provided in the Natural Resources Development Fund.

The Chairman also assured the delegation that the Commission is committed to attracting more funding for the sector in view of its overriding importance as a revenue earner. This, he said would be implored through the enthronement of a viable fiscal policy regime that will place the sector at par with other revenue generating agencies like the Custom Service and the FIRS, who receive 7 percent and 4 percent respectively from total revenues collected.

Speaking earlier, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Sada who was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dauda Kigbu and other Directors decried the poor revenue-generating capacity of the Solid Minerals Sector, saying at the moment Government does not collect up to 20 percent due to the series of weaknesses inherent in the sector.

Musa Sada expressed optimism that the hitherto moribund sector will soon be restored to its past glory as President Goodluck Jonathan has identified the solid minerals sector as one of the very strong and strategic tool for the Transformation Agenda. Adding, it will improve local content, value addition and import substitution for the required raw materials so as to significantly improve the national economy. He noted that the on-going reforms in the sector has attracted the attention of the World Bank reform activities with the sole aim of making the sector private-sector driven in line with global best practices; stating, it would allow private investors to do business in the sector within the established standards.

The Minister mentioned that the World Bank has comprehensively carried out institutional reforms which include strengthening of the legal and regulatory frameworks and fiscal governance to enhance the revenue generation capacity and governance of mining institutions in Nigeria. “After the World Bank exit, the Federal Government was spurred to do more and hitherto, Nigeria blessed with huge limestone deposits was only producing 2 million metric tones of cement. With the reforms, the production figure has risen to 30 million metric tones making the country an exporter of cement,” he pointed.