Executive Secretary/CEO, National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Kamar Bakrin, has updated critical stakeholders on the progress made by the council in addressing impediments to improved local sugar production in the country.
Speaking at a tripartite meeting of the agency, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and investment and the major BIP operators, in Abuja, the NSDC boss said the Council has elevated performance monitoring and oversight of the Backward Integration Programme (BIP) operators beyond what the Sugar Industry Monitoring Group (SIMOG) used to do.
According to him, NSDC under his watch has emphasised robust, one-on-one, physical and virtual engagement with the operators, giving them targets and following up on deliverables.
On the feedback he has obtained from the operators, the Executive Secretary told the gathering, chaired by the Minister of State for Industry, John Owan Enoh, that: “The operators have complained about the existing loopholes in the free trade zone regime, which they believe certain participants in the NSMP have exploited.”
