ICEMASTER'S BLOG: Fayemi's ministry spends N700m on web portal for ease of doing business

- Nigeria's minister, Kayode Fayemi, has revealed the ways his ministry is trying the ease doing business in the mining sector
- He said his ministry spent N700 million creating a portal that gives all the information needed concerning the sector
- He also explained how the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has put the country on a sound footing concerning the economy
Kayode Fayemi, the mines and steel development minister has revealed that his ministry has spent N700 million to develop an integrated automation and interactive GIS web portal to improve `Ease-of-Doing-Business in the mining sector.
Speaking at the launch of the portal on Thursday, November 9, in Abuja, Fayemi said the portal was a cutting edge initiative that leveraged technology for the innovation, efficiency and effectiveness in the mineral sector governance.
The minister added that the objective of the project was to increase provision of reliable information and knowledge in order to enhance promotion of investments in the sector, using the technology-driven innovation and to increase the sector’s GDP
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the portal was designed for mining investors to perform business processes such as online mining licences and mineral titles applications, online payment of royalties and fees, database for revenue drive and to block revenue leakages.
The minister said the portal is designed to serve as an input and decision support system to other entities of government.
“This event is coming at a very auspicious time, on a broad scale; dividends of this administration’s commitment to turning around our economic fortunes,” he said adding that Nigeria had moved up in the global market by 24 points in the ease of doing business index for 2018 in a recent report released by World Bank.
He said Nigeria was also ranked as one of the 10 most improved economies in the world just as he added that 75 staff had been trained on GIS across the mining sector.
According to him, the operation of online application of mining title and licences issued by Nigerian Mining Cadastre office, online application of licences and permit issued by Mines Inspectorate Department and GIS laboratory, among others, would commence in the first quarter of 2018.
In his own position, Abubakar Bwari, The junior minister said the integrated web portal was conceived as a means of making information more accessible to players and the public alike.
He added that the initiative was to revamp the sector, as the ministry was moribund before himself and the senior minister assumed the sector.
We earlier reported that the official battle between the federal government and Lagos state continued on Monday, August 7, 2017, with the ministry of mines and steel development asking dredgers in Lagos to return to site.
The federal ministry headed by former Governor Kayode Fayemi asked the duly licensed dredgers to disregard a recent ‘stop work’ order issued to them by Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos