RDB has collaborated with Pemandu consultation agency to pitch 100 projects to investors for their consideration. With the right financing, these projects could fast track the country’s development
The Government has recently imposed export controls on locally farmed chicken in an effort to control prices of the ‘essential product’ for local consumption. This comes on the back of significant public pressure on the rise in the cost of living especially in a post-pandemic environment.
The implementation of price control although altruistic in nature by the Government has side effects that are usually not well understood by the public at large. It is important to recognize that the poultry industry sustains itself by Malaysians for Malaysians. As a general economic rule, business owners increase their prices because factors like supplies have become scarce, or the cost of production has increased. In this case, the recent price hike is impacted by the global turmoil in supply chains caused by the economic sanctions on Russia.
The measure by the Government is a logical approach, but we must be aware of the likely repercussions:
1. The livelihoods of those involved in the poultry supply industry.
2. The tangible and intangible subsidisation of any essential items by the Government
3. The view by investors on whether Government interventions are good for business – in this case, likely to be negative.
It is important to recognize that the root cause of the problem is not malice, but one that is related to the current global supply chains. Support for price controls ideally should be handled at the source. Perhaps it is better to allow prices to float temporarily even if they are very expensive but instead work with the industry to identify catalytic projects that could address the shortage of raw materials that go into the production. There could be a formation of a consortium to buy the raw materials for the industry in bulk. There could even be an opportunity for alternative products to be proposed that are less dependent on the affected raw materials. Ideas like these are not new and have been brought up before in many of the transformation labs on Agriculture PEMANDU Associates have been involved in around the world. Various initiatives that incentivise technology adoption and innovation to catalyse higher productivity and efficiency have been endorsed in these engagements. Some even involve the development of programmes to encourage collaboration amongst small farmers into larger entities to improve economies of scale.
Subsidies and price controls have been important policy tools in many developing countries to promote socioeconomic growth. However, as economies mature, the costs of maintaining such policies begin to outweigh the benefits. As a result, after reaching a certain level of growth, more countries are opting to reduce subsidies in favour of more liberalised policies.
Similarly, Malaysia has maintained a blanket subsidy on fuel for the better part of the last decade to foster economic development. However, the ultimate goal is to eventually transition to a market-price system to encourage fiscal and environmental sustainability – and the first step toward that is to reduce subsidies. The petrol subsidy programme (PSP) was intended to be implemented in tandem with a gradual float of RON95 petrol and diesel prices. The PSP was designed to encourage better fiscal responsibility while still protecting those who needed it the most.
Dato Seri Idris Jala, our President and Chairman, stated in 2010 that “Malaysia could still go bankrupt if annual growth remains below 4%, debt continues to rise at 12% per year, and the country continues to spend borrowed money on operational expenditure such as subsidies.”
In this case of chicken and food security identifying the root cause is vital and addressing it through collaborative efforts and innovative ideas involving the private sector.
At PEMANDU Associates, we believe that transformational initiatives should deliver long-term sustainable impact to the rakyat, with emphasis on improving economic development, attracting investments and job creation. The Government cannot do this alone and will require a winning coalition with relevant private sector companies to make the effort a success. Only then will solutions cease to be stop-gap measures, and instead become sustainable for the long haul.
Woody Ang Woo Teck is joint managing director of Pemandu Associates
Source: The Edge Markets
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The Government has recently imposed export controls on locally farmed chicken in an effort to control prices of the ‘essential product’ for local consumption.
More than 50 projects are expected to enable Rwanda to reach its goal of achieving a middle-income economy by 2035, and a developed economy by 2050.
Projects worth more than US$ 6 billion were identified during a four-week workshop that ended yesterday June 10, led by the government, private sectors, banks and consulted by PEMANDU Associates, a global consultancy company, to generate impactful and fast results through collaborative program solving and detailing implementation plans.
The ready-to-go projects identified in Rwanda Private Sector-Led Transformation Program (RPTP) Laboratory using Big Fast Results (BFR) methodology, focused on three areas of;
Agriculture and Agro-processing, Manufacturing and Infrastructure and Energy, and the projects from these areas are expected to contribute Rwf 2.9 trillion to the country’s GDP.
Private investors will play a big role in implementation of the projects, to enhance private sector-led economic transformation.
According to Dennis Karera, the chairperson of Gold Capital Investments, the programme has provided new models to implement projects and shared knowledge between the investors and government in implementation of the projects, to escalate the country’s GDP.
“We have learnt ways to evaluate our projects, at least every one year, set monitoring mechanisms, specify assessment period and to invest in projects that deliver quick impact and are measurable on the GDP, “Karera said.
He requested the programme to be extended at the district level, for the project investors to work with people who also understand the project and the same line, to avoid misunderstandings between authorities and implementers.
Eric Murenzi, a businessman from Umuyenzi City Centre and stakeholder in one the projects in RPTP, said, RPTP will not only benefit business sectors and private sectors, but citizens of the country.
“Investors will not only increase the GDP, they will also create more jobs and more opportunities in Rwanda, with the aim of being the ‘Singapore of Africa’ and becoming a high income country by 2050,” he said.
Murenzi added that Rwanda is a safe country with its government willing to support investors in terms of security provision and especially a great climate calling for more foreign investors.
“The methodologies used to consult here in Rwanda, are the same ones proved to work in other countries like Malaysia, among others we have worked with, 25 of them over the last ten years, ” Aida Azmi, the executive vice president of PEMANDU said.
In her closing remarks, Clare Akamanzi, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board, said investors and the government have to do things differently and new things, to achieve the goals of 2032 and 2050 faster and on time.
“If we keep doing things the way we are doing today, vision 2050 will be achieved in 2077,” Akamanzi said.
She concluded by encouraging investors to identify goals and achieve them on time, in order to enjoy the benefits of their hard work.
RPTP, includes two types of intervention; identifying existing projects that are not implemented optimally, looking at how they make the most out of them to accelerate at 100%, and identifying new projects that do not exist in the country but are possible to be applicable.
The one year project will also ensure these targeted private sector investments are able to realise its intended impact through effective facilitation and problem solving, complemented by relentless monitoring and delivery driven interventions at the highest level of government.
Source: All Africa
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Different stakeholders and partners need to work together if the private sector is to drive Rwanda’s economy and GDP.
This observation comes a few weeks after Rwanda Development Board partnered with PEMANDU Associates, a global consultancy company, to implement the Rwanda Private Sector-led Transformation Program (RPTP).
Rwanda Private Sector-Led Transformation aims to fast-track private sector-led transformation by fostering collaboration and accountability between the government and the private sector.
Larvin Rengasamy, Managing Director at PEMANDU Associates said, “There is a lot of promise in the private sector. We need to get all stakeholders and partners together, if the private sector is to drive Rwanda’s economy and grow the GDP.”
He said that over the past seven weeks, RPTP has been progressive, where the private sector, ministries and government agencies have been collaborative in problem-solving and detailing of projects in an accelerated manner.
“This process is called Lab 50, and it is part of PEMANDU Associates’ Big Fast Results 8 Step Transformation methodology.”
Rengasamy added that through Lab 50, new opportunities worth more than US$6 billion, in three focus areas of agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, infrastructure and energy, that are catalytic for Rwanda’s future growth, have been identified and will be clearly detailed.
“The effort now would need to focus on inviting investors in a targeted and selective manner, for quality investments that can assist Rwanda in realising its ambition of achieving a high-income nation by 2050 through private sector investments.”
Desire Rusatira, Head of reinvestment and investor aftercare department at RDB, said PEMANDU is here to help and facilitate how they can address challenges in the private sector.
“What is the gap, and how can it be filled? We have the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) that can help us reach these goals, since our mission is turning Rwanda’s economy to a private-led economy,” he said.
This is the second-week PEMANDU Associates is working together with RDB to address challenges in the private sector and how present gaps can be filled.
The consultants have partnered with the Government to implement Rwanda Private Sector-Led Transformation Program (RPTP). Key targets of RPTP are GDP contribution, job creation, private sector investments and export potential.
Source: All Africa
Read the full article here.
