Former United States President, Mr.
George W. Bush, has tasked leaders in
Nigeria and other African countries on
tackling corruption, as he noted it would
earn them the confidence of the
masses.
Bush said this in his opening remarks at
the “Access Conference 2013: Embracing
Sustainable Leadership,” organised by
Access Bank Plc in Lagos Thursday.
According to the former US president, in
order for democracy to thrive in Nigeria,
there was need for accountability.
“I think it is very important to hold
people to account. During my
administration, I was a strong believer
that it is very important to earn
confidence in people by busting
corruption. Seven congressmen in my
party were jailed because they were
corrupt.
“My advice is to have clear rules that
enforce without prejudice and hold
government account to honor the people
by ensury that their money would be
protected by the law,” he declared.
Asked on how best to enforce tax laws,
Bush said there was need to balance the
role of the public sector and that of the
private sector.
“When I was president, I felt it was
important to invigorate the private
sector. In my country, most of the jobs
were made by small businesses, many
small businesses are corporated as
limited partnership or entities that pay
individual tax rates and therefore
dropping individual income tax rates will
increase private sector growth.
“I think it is important not to overtax
capital investors. It is important to
reward capital investors. I think it is
very important for a country that people
are paying their own fair share of taxes
in all levels of government and income
strand. Try to simplify the tax code so
everyone gets to understand the tax
code laws and the tax responsibilities.”
Speaking further, Bush said: “I believe
that taxes are important for economic
growth. During my administration,
revenues increased as a result of taxes
because it is the private sector that
supplies the tax revenues to the US
treasury because it is the public sector
that spends money that generates
revenues.
“In Nigeria, the tax codes are good. I
would hope you would look at it to make
sure that the tax codes encourage
participation.”
Also speaking, the Coordinating Minister
for the Economy and Minister of
Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said
there was need to pay more attention on
systems, processes and institutions that
would help develop the country.
“If you ask me about the difference
between us, a lot of developing and
developed countries on this issue of
sustainable leadership, it is that absence
of institutions. My usual test is to ask
people if they know who the president of
Switzerland is?
“Most people don’t know, but everybody
rush to Switzerland to put their money
there. To me, sustainable leadership is
creating trust, creating institutions,
trust, processes and having the human
capital to carry on,” Okonjo-Iweala
said.
Similarly, the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi, pointed out that there was need
to eliminate avenues for rent-seeking,
such as subsidies and discretionary
decisions in the country.
According to him, with appropriate
regulations, it would be difficult for
leaders to take advantage of situations
in their country for personal benefit.
“Another thing is what kind of questions
do we ask them and what kind of
demands do we make as followers? What
are our priorities when choosing leaders?
Institutions are very important, but
individuals are also important.
“You have a state, you have a ministry,
you have a central bank, you have the
presidency and you have a government.
The institutions are there, the laws are
there. But no matter how strong an
institution is, a weak leader weakens it.
So it is important to match the person to
the role and make sure that everything
is focused on merit,” he said.
George W. Bush, has tasked leaders in
Nigeria and other African countries on
tackling corruption, as he noted it would
earn them the confidence of the
masses.
Bush said this in his opening remarks at
the “Access Conference 2013: Embracing
Sustainable Leadership,” organised by
Access Bank Plc in Lagos Thursday.
According to the former US president, in
order for democracy to thrive in Nigeria,
there was need for accountability.
“I think it is very important to hold
people to account. During my
administration, I was a strong believer
that it is very important to earn
confidence in people by busting
corruption. Seven congressmen in my
party were jailed because they were
corrupt.
“My advice is to have clear rules that
enforce without prejudice and hold
government account to honor the people
by ensury that their money would be
protected by the law,” he declared.
Asked on how best to enforce tax laws,
Bush said there was need to balance the
role of the public sector and that of the
private sector.
“When I was president, I felt it was
important to invigorate the private
sector. In my country, most of the jobs
were made by small businesses, many
small businesses are corporated as
limited partnership or entities that pay
individual tax rates and therefore
dropping individual income tax rates will
increase private sector growth.
“I think it is important not to overtax
capital investors. It is important to
reward capital investors. I think it is
very important for a country that people
are paying their own fair share of taxes
in all levels of government and income
strand. Try to simplify the tax code so
everyone gets to understand the tax
code laws and the tax responsibilities.”
Speaking further, Bush said: “I believe
that taxes are important for economic
growth. During my administration,
revenues increased as a result of taxes
because it is the private sector that
supplies the tax revenues to the US
treasury because it is the public sector
that spends money that generates
revenues.
“In Nigeria, the tax codes are good. I
would hope you would look at it to make
sure that the tax codes encourage
participation.”
Also speaking, the Coordinating Minister
for the Economy and Minister of
Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said
there was need to pay more attention on
systems, processes and institutions that
would help develop the country.
“If you ask me about the difference
between us, a lot of developing and
developed countries on this issue of
sustainable leadership, it is that absence
of institutions. My usual test is to ask
people if they know who the president of
Switzerland is?
“Most people don’t know, but everybody
rush to Switzerland to put their money
there. To me, sustainable leadership is
creating trust, creating institutions,
trust, processes and having the human
capital to carry on,” Okonjo-Iweala
said.
Similarly, the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi, pointed out that there was need
to eliminate avenues for rent-seeking,
such as subsidies and discretionary
decisions in the country.
According to him, with appropriate
regulations, it would be difficult for
leaders to take advantage of situations
in their country for personal benefit.
“Another thing is what kind of questions
do we ask them and what kind of
demands do we make as followers? What
are our priorities when choosing leaders?
Institutions are very important, but
individuals are also important.
“You have a state, you have a ministry,
you have a central bank, you have the
presidency and you have a government.
The institutions are there, the laws are
there. But no matter how strong an
institution is, a weak leader weakens it.
So it is important to match the person to
the role and make sure that everything
is focused on merit,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment