In a year-end address, Elias Monage, president of Seifsa, highlighted the need for ongoing stabilization of electricity supply to attract investment for growth. He emphasized the importance of addressing fundamental issues in water, freight logistics, crime, and visa administration, stating, “These are the elementary elements of a viable economy.”
Monage spoke shortly after organized business and government initiated a second phase of their partnership to tackle the crises in electricity, logistics, and crime, aiming for a 3% growth target by 2025. He described the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) as a “hugely significant moment” and a chance for new beginnings in a polarized political landscape.
He urged businesses to engage with the GNU, holding it accountable while fostering a partnership for mutual growth. “The secret of change is to focus all our energies not just on fighting the old but on building the new,” he said.
Monage also called for an urgent acceleration of infrastructure spending to stimulate demand in the metals and engineering sector, which has faced stagnation and declining employment. He pointed to the Steel Master Plan as a strategy to improve perceptions of the steel industry and to prioritize local procurement, transformation, and competitiveness. These initiatives aim to boost output and demand for the sector’s products.
