[size=15pt] FG pledges new era for mines, steel development[/size]
by Layi Adeloye
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Muhammed Sada
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The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Musa Muhammed Sada, has said that a new era await mining and steel production in the country will soon experience a lift in activities, going by policy input and restructuring being undertaken by the ministry in the two divisions.
According to him, the government is ready to offer necessary support to operating firms in the steel sector, just as mining is being made to benefit all segments involved in the mining process.
The minister stated this when he visited the new integrated steel mill belonging to Western Metal Products Limited, situated at Magboro, Ogun State. Western Metal Products Company Limited on Friday began a test run of its new multi-billion naira integrated steel mill.
The minister said while the government would continue to initiate new policies and schemes to encourage investor participation in mining activities, informal mining sector would continue to be taken care of. Besides, he said plans were in the offing to ensure that Ajaokuta Steel Company, the backbone of steel rolling mills in the country, got required attention in terms of the appointment of the right management.
He said the government made a peculiar mistake in its past efforts to privatise the Ajaokuta Steel Complex by putting emphasis on possession of money as the most important consideration in its choice of management team.
He said, “Past efforts did not achieve the desired results because money was put ahead of other considerations in the selection of management team. In such a process, three things are important: money, requisite management skill and adequate understanding and belief in the environment.
“In past attempts at privatisation, capital was given the most important place. After all the ongoing scuffles over with the immediate past management have been settled, the Federal Government has decided to be careful by emphasising possession of the right management skills and in-depth understanding of the environment and belief in its peculiarity as key conditions for selecting a new management for Ajaokuta Steel Company.”
The minister said his visit to the new WEMPCO integrated steel mill, ahead of the formal inauguration of the new facility, was informed by the importance the government attached to the position of steel in its economic transformation efforts. He said a quick resolution of all the problems associated with the non effective working of Ajaokuta Steel Company would have multiplier effects on the operations of steel rolling mills and other sectors of the economy.
Besides, he said under the new management of Ajaokuta Steel Company, “the government will not step back; it will be involved in a supervisory role.”
The Group Managing Director, WEMPCO, Mr. Lewis Tung, while conducting the minister round the sprawling facility, said steel remained the basic metal-backbone of all industries, just as it happens in advanced countries of the world.
He said the new integrated steel facility had production capacity of 700,000 metric tonnes and a production machinery of five-stand Tandem Mill, which is the first of its kind in Africa.
He described the factory as one set to produce cold roll steel sheet of up to 0.15mm in thickness and coils of the same dimension and above.
Tung listed the facilities at the plant to include a 52-megawatt generator for power supply; a water treatment and recycling plant; an acid generating plant; an air purifier and an annealing line.
He listed the benefits from the steel companies to include a boost in economic activities of the immediate communities, local, state and the country; increase in downstream economic activities, general empowerment and job creation for artisans, like technicians, drivers, auto technicians and fabricators; and training and technology transfer.
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