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…Says MDAs Will Get N350bn Capital Allocation Soon
As part of Federal Government’s contingency plans to lift the economy from recession, the sum of N350 billion (capital allocation) is set for release next week to the various Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) of government. Also confirmed for implementation this month, in line with the strategic plans to quickly put the economy back on track, is the implementation of social intervention programmes.
These include the disbursement of N5,000 monthly stipend to vulnerable poor Nigerians and feeding of school pupils in the nation’s public primary schools. Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, gave these Abuja, while briefing journalists on what was being done by the government to address the economy which is currently in recession.
With an additional N350 billion billed for disbursement next week, the sum will push the total amount of capital disbursement to MDAs to N770 billion out of N1.8 trillion capital allocation outlined in 2016 budget. Accompanied by heads of key agencies in the finance ministry, Adeosun explained that key projects in power, housing, transport, airports, water; defence, agriculture and avia-tion would get the largest chunk of the disbursement.
The minister explained that, the rationale behind giving priority to key projects was in line with Federal Government’s resolve that, the quickest means to revive the economy entails re-directing expenditure to funding key infrastructure that will impact on the economy.
Of the N350 billion capital allocation due for release next week, she said N60 billion was allocated for implementation of the social intervention programmes. While commending Nigerians for their resilience in the face of current hardship,the minister said the current administration was working hard to re-direct the economy from being a consumption economy to productive one, just as she assured Nigerians that the government has what it takes to achieve the goal.
“We have a strategic plan that will take us from current recession. We are raising money. As you know the Euro bond is on, we are about to appoint advisers. We are about raising additional $1billion. Two weeks ago we approved the borrowing plan and that is very important as we will be borrowing the cheapest money first.
We have approved that plan from World Bank, AfDB with interest rates as low as 1percent and tenor as low as forty years. “We are intervening in specific areas which include agriculture, health, the railway project and these are very key to what we are doing.
The issue with fiscal initiatives is that, there is always a lag; there is always a lag between when you release money and when it has effect. What we are trying to do now, is to see how we can shorten that lag. “As for delays in procurement process, we are working with the ministries, we are working with other agencies.
As we always said, if we don’t go by open procurement, it would not give all Nigerians an equal opportunity. For instance, a ministry has a contract and nobody knows about it, they will only reveal it to people they know. “We are trying to get away from that culture and enthrone culture of transparency.
We are working with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to fast track the process to see how the money can quickly trickle down to the ordinary Nigerians,” the minister noted. She said government was committed to ensuring the recession is over as quickly as possible.
“What we are looking at, we don’t think is going to be a long recession considering some of the initiatives we have put in place which will begin to bear fruits soon.”
