2015: HOW EKPENYONG NTEKIM SHALL CREATE 300,000 JOBS EVERY YEAR Last week President Goodluck Jonathan launched the 4th edition of YOUWIN programme. YOUWIN is an economic catalysis for the powering of the Federal Government job creation programme. Over the last three years, YOUWIN has empowered over 400 SMEs and generated about 50,000 primary employment and further created over 150,000 secondary employment across the country. For every single SME empowered by the YOUWIN, at least 10 direct jobs and 15 indirect jobs are created. This year edition promises more gains as more youths have expressed obtimism and confidence in the programme. The YOUWIN programme was created to provide risk-capital to existing SMEs and business ideas in incubators. Akwa Ibom State has a similar programme, which is called Akwa Ibom Integrated Farmers Scheme. The Scheme is an economic catalytic programme muted by the Arc. Victor Attah administration and continued under Gov. Akpabio. The objective of the Scheme is to help 500 Akwa Ibom people annually to established agric business, which in turn will act as the arrow-heads for the State econimic revolution. However, over the years the scheme has become bedridden, therefore comatose and moribund, due to sustained corruption within the patronage system. Apart from the general perception of the people that the scheme is used to service govt militia machinery and pay off govt election thugs, the scheme does not have a follow-through aspect, which the scheme beneficiaries are mentored, monitored, evaluated and advised. For example, I know of a man in Ikot Ekpene who immediately after recieving his N300,000 from the scheme, he bought an okada, TV, radio, refigerator, rented new apartment and co-opt a resident girlfriend. That is exactly opposite of the scheme objective, especially as was conceived by Attah. The clear or distinctive difference between the YOUWIN and the integrated farmers scheme is basically that of structure. Apart from the fact that beneficiaries of the YOUWIN are awarded non-refundable and non-retrievable grant of N1 million to N10 million, while the farmers scheme awards a interest-free loan of N250,000 to N500,000; the YOUWIN has a follow through aspect. Beneficiaries of the programme are attached to expert-mentors to advise them on every level of their business and investment. Moreover, the funding system of YOUWIN is staggered. N10 million is not drop into the lap of the beneficiary at once; rather the expert-mentor at the request of the beneficiary advised the YOUWIN Secratariat on when it is timely to inject another lump of the money into his business. So the beneficiary must work through the entire ladder of payment, hence in the process help YOUWIN to achieve its objective of job creation. As I noted earlier, the YOUWIN has already created about 50,000 direct jobs and 150,000 indirect jobs. It is a success. Now, Barr. Ekpenyong Ntekim has pledged to replicated the success of the YOUWIN in Akwa Ibom State. But rather than limiting the number of beneficiaries to between 1200 to 2000, Ekpenyong Ntekim shall be looking at the benchmark of between 2500 to 3500 beneficiaries per year. This means this means that every year Ekpenyong Ntekim shall be creating about 50,000 direct jobs and over 150,000 indirect jobs in Akwa Ibom State through his own version of the YOUWIN programme. This is apart from the integrated farmers scheme which he has pledged to sanitized. When Ekpenyong Ntekim has sanitized the scheme, we shall be looking at his administration helping 10,000 men and women yearly to become modern high-tech farmers with the minimum start up capital of at N1 million. Ekpenyong Ntekim has pledged to convert the non-interest loan of N500,000 to non-retrievable and non-refundable venture capital of blw N1 million to N5 million. The farms developed under the scheme should be able to employ at least 10 people in direct and indirect jobs. This means that under Ekpenyong Ntekim the integrated farmers scheme shall be creating over 100,000 jobs every year in Akwa Ibom State. There are other job creation programme of Ekpenyong Ntekim which shall be discussed later in the series. It is important for us to recognized that no mega manufacturing or petro-chemical industry can generate 300,000 jobs yearly, only SMEs can do that. Mega factories, like Eket petro-chemical industry or ceramics company in Uyo, has limited inelastic job capacity of 500 to 2000 in direct and indirect jobs whereas SME job creation capacity is organic and elastic hence vertically continuous in horizontal manner. It is only SME that has the capacity for continuous job creation because it a bottom up programme and it more labour-intensive. Barr. Ekpenyong Ntekim, a renowned chartered accountant and expert in development law, recognizes this fact. This is one of the reasons we endorsed Barr. Ekpenyong Ntekim for Governor of Akwa Ibom State. So continue to support Ekpenyong Ntekim. Tell your friends and communities and clubs to support Ekpenyong Ntekim. Barr. Ekpenyong Ntekim holds the key to unlocking millions of jobs for every youth, woman and man in Akwa Ibom State. Together we can! Together we can!!
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 04:31:08 +0000
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