Chief Felly-Zontal Akosa, President, Awka Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (AWKACCIMA) have stressed the need for synergy between governments and private sector to tackle poor power and water supply.
Akosa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Awka that unless the problem of power and water was solved, business operators would continue to face hiccups.
He insisted that the federal, state, local governments and the organised private sectors must work together to get the problem of power solved to accelerate development.
“In Awka, top on the list of challenges business operators are facing is poor power supply which is making a lot of businesses to be standing on one leg.
”We need power the same way government needs fund to operate; today almost every business including the Innoson Motor Manufacturing company in Anambra State is running on generating sets.
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”Tackling the problem of power must be achieved through synergy which should target for decentralization of the monopoly in the power sector.
’’Nigerians should be able to witness the era when generation, transmission and distribution sectors are carried out by different companies in the power sector if we must change things positively,” he said.
Akosa, who is also an industrialist, maintained that if the enabling environment was provided, business operators had the capacity to create more jobs than government.
The chamber president also stressed the need for Anambra state government to tackle the problem of water supply in Awka and other towns in the state.
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“Most business operators in Awka depend on commercial water tanker suppliers for the operation of their firms and one is yet to see a developed nation without efficient water supply.
”All what we have in Awka are boreholes and some of the boreholes are surface water which is not fit for drinking,” he said.
Akosa recalled that pipe borne water was last used in Awka about the year 2000, saying, ‘‘I am not sure there is public water supply in Onitsha and Nnewi too.”
He regretted that poor power and water supply which he described as critical factors in business had led to death of several companies.
Akosa however, commended the Anambra State Government for its lead in the area of road infrastructure, adding that business operators had no issue on roads.
He further praised Governor Willie Obiano of the state for his commitments towards the development of permanent headquarters of the chamber in Awka.
Akosa said once the project was achieved, it would further boost business operations in the area, noting that foreign investments would increase.(NAN).
