Blame retrenchment in banks on TSA policy –ACCI

…As FG pledges to address forex challenges facing airlines operators

The current gale of retrenchment of workers in the banking industry has been attributed to the implementation of the Single Treasury Account (TSA) policy by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Mr. Tony Ejinkeonye, who made this disclosure yesterday in Abuja while reacting to the present retrenchment beclouding the financial sector stated that the implementation of the Federal Government’s TSA policy has left banks with severe liquidity problems that are forcing them to cut their workforce to remain in business.
He called on the government to stop playing politics with the job cut crises in the banking sector as full employment remains the topmost in the list of macroeconomic objectives of any government. According to him, “the government needs to take urgent proactive steps and apply discretionary measures that can absorb sudden economic event rather than mere statement without any affirmative results,” he said.
Thousands of bank and oil workers are being retrenched by employers due to some economic measures taken by the Federal Government which is now advising organisations to halt such retrenchment exercise.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, has assured operators of domestic airlines in Nigeria of the determination of the Federal Government to address the challenge of foreign exchange shortages facing them.
Sirika gave the assurance when members of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), led by its Chairman, Mr. Nogie Meggison, visited him in Abuja.
He said he had visited the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Finance on the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari with the view to resolving the issue.
The Minister dismissed the allegation made by operators of domestic airlines that preference was being given to foreign airlines in sourcing foreign exchange but promised that the Federal Government would create level playing field for all airline operators in the country irrespective of their origin by ensuring that their plights were ameliorated.
On the issue of JET A1 known as aviation fuel, Sirika said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had assured of its readiness to reposition the country’s refineries to produce the product.
He said the issue of the price of fuel was beyond his purview, adding that availability of the product was his priority at the moment.
“We are committed to making Jet A1 available and I believe that if our refineries start producing it, the price will naturally come down. The whole essence of refining it locally here is not just to make it available, it is also to make it cheaper,” he said.
The Minister said his Ministry was discussing with the Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to ensure that waivers on aircraft and their parts are sustained.
Sirika said the Federal Government would review some of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) it signed with different countries to ensure that they are beneficial to Nigeria.
Earlier, the Chairman of AON, Meggison, told the Minister that the purpose of their visit was to draw the attention of government to the issues affecting their operations in the country.
He said that the allocation of forex to domestic airlines was adversely affecting their operations and urged the government to put domestic operators on its priority list.
DAILY SUN