Kaduna vows to make the state a hub of creative industry

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By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
Kaduna State Government has assured that the administration would empower those in the creative industry through capacity building, provision of infrastructure and technical support in ensuring that their products compete favourably with those imported into the country.
Special Assistant to the State Governor on Creative Arts, Hajia Halima Idris expressed this on Tuesday, when she took a tour of the Old Panteka Market, Kaduna.
She said that the Governor was working hard at ensuring that unemployment in the state was reduced to the barest minimum through the informal sectors, where basic training and retraining would be encouraged, to make them bigger entrepreneurs whose products would be desired throughout the country and beyond.
“We want a situation whereby your products will be better than those imported from abroad, so that not only those in Kaduna or the North, but even people from Lagos would come here and buy your products,” she said.
The SA Creative Arts advised them to ensure that their business premises were registered with government, to ensure that they are captured well for them to enjoy some benefits.
Speaking further while addressing their leaders, she praised them for organizing themselves and electing leaders to head the entire market, as well as other smaller units.
Reacting to an appeal from the Panteka Community, sheassured them that very soon, the power challenges they are facing would be a thing of the past as government would make efforts in installing the two transformers available, to further boost their output and save them money spent on fuelling generators.
She advised them to make a list of the machines they would be needing available to the government, to see possible ways they could be assisted.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the market, Alhaji Suleiman Gurjiya appealed to the government to provide tools and modern machines that would make them churn out better products.
He explained that the Panteka is like a school, where several youths are trained to become not just self reliant, but to become employers of labour.
Gurjiya said that they are well organized and are currently employing over 30,000 youth in the state, thereby, preventing social vices from potential idle minds.
During the tour, she was taken round several departments, like the metal works, aluminum smelting, wood works, machine fabrication and many others, where she was impressed with the level of creativity being displayed.

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