As part of his development plans to build the Enugu State gross domestic product (GDP) from the current $4.4 billion to $30 billion, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Peter Mbah, has reached out to investors from Germany, Denmark, Austria and other European countries to consider bringing down their businesses and investing in the huge market existing in the state.
Mbah made the overtures at the official opening of GoUni-European Business Park and Centre for Practical Skills at the Godfrey Okoye University, Ugwuomu Nike, a skills acquisition and vocational training centre for students and youths.
He promised the investors that his administration, if elected, would enable a business friendly environment by de-risking investment flow, clearing the legal hurdles and other extraneous bottlenecks that endanger investment prospects and providing a one-stop-shop for documentation and other permits.
The industrialist, who reiterated his determination to grow the state economy exponentially through technology, skills acquisition and vocational training centres, said these would be largely private sector-driven and enabled by flexible policy incentives.
Mbah stressed that the establishment of the business park and centre for practical skills were in tandem with his development plans for the state, noting further that his plan is to work in synergy with lawmakers for a proactive and dynamic legislative framework that would make it compulsory for every child that attains the age of 12 to commence the acquisition of one or more skills and by age 18, become mentally, skillfully and physically equipped to create wealth for themselves.
While assuring of his readiness to partner the centre for training of youths in different skills and vocations that would add to the economic growth of the state by creating jobs, the governorship hopeful insisted that all opportunities must be explored for productiveness.
He stated that the idea behind the centre had justified his driving philosophy that “tomorrow is here” by hastening those factors that serve as catalysts for development and economic growth.
According to him, “the establishment of the centre of practical skills and the business park directly cut into our development plans for the people of Enugu State.
“Our goal is that in the near future, this practical skills centre and indeed the European Business Park will constitute one of many hubs for enlargement of small and medium size businesses.
“So, what you have done by the establishment of this practical skills centre is on all fours with our development plans and indeed consistent with our strategy to lead a public sector enabled but private sector driven economic growth.”
Assuring the investors of his commitment to make the state the preferred destination for investment, business, tourism and living, Mbah maintained that the ‘Made-in-Enugu’ products that would serve both domestic and foreign markets and would address the problem of unemployment, eradicate poverty, and also create opportunities for investors to explore other areas such as the new energy and mineral resources sector his soon-to-be administration would be exploring.
These, he said, included huge deposits of lime stones, ironstone, gypsum, alum, glass sands, clay minerals, coal, in different parts of the state.
The oil and gas mogul, while sharing ideas with the European business community, re-echoed his background as one coming from the private sector who understood the pain business owners go through to start up and sustain their businesses.
He said his experiences had prepared him with the right tool to dislodge all the barriers that frustrate investment through friendly legislation, e-governance, accessing of title documents within one week from the comfort of their homes and offices, since his key mission is to attract as many investments as he can to the stat
