…As Finance, National Planning Ministries trade blames
From Joseph Inokotong, Abuja
The non release of the first tranche of the 2017 capital budget, few days to the end of the third quarter, has heightened fears in the economy that the goals of the N7.44 trillion budget may not be achieved before the end of the year.
This is happening as the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning recently said it has concluded consultations on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and strategy paper for 2018-2020, which also has received the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
For 2017, capital expenditure (including transfers) is estimated at N2.36 trillion, representing 31.7 per cent of the total Federal Government expenditure for the year.
But the concern with the latest development is that if funds are not released on time, some of the capital projects central to the wellbeing of the citizens, likely to be derailed, include the N148 billion rail modernisation programme, mostly for counterpart funds on projects to be financed by China for various railway projects (Lagos-Kano, Calabar-Lagos, Kano-Kaduna, Ajaokuta-Itakpe-Warri, Kaduna-Idu) and other rail projects.
Other projects that may be impacted negatively by this unhealthy trend are the more than N100 billion facilities for water supply, rehabilitation of dams and irrigation projects nationwide; the N2.03 billion for the construction of terminal building at Enugu airport; the N9.5 billion rural electrification projects in federal universities; and the N10 billion for the construction of 3,050mw Mambilla hydropower project, among others.
When contacted for the explanation on the delay in the release of 2017 capital votes, the Director (Information), Federal Ministry of Finance, Salisu Dambatta, replied: “We spoke. Contact the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.”
For his part, however, the Media Adviser to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Mr. Akpandem James, explained that the ministry does not release funds, stressing that it is the statutory function of the Finance Ministry.
This development has fuelled speculations in some quarters that the ambitious 2017 budget may be heading for the rocks, especially now that the Federal Government has indicated interest in reverting to the old budget cycle of January to December.
The Muhammadu Buhari administration had initiated the Economic recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and targeted the 2017 budget to jumpstart the economy again.
Recall that the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, at the public presentation of 2017 Appropriation Act in Abuja in June, said the Federal Government was ready to release N350 billion, being the first tranche for implementation of the 2017 budget, yet nothing of such has happened since then.
She pointed out that the Federal Government had enough resources to immediately commence the execution of key projects captured in the 2017 budget.
Mrs. Adeosun said, “we are ready, we are having a cash-plan meeting very soon and after that, about N350 billion will be released as first tranche of capital releases for the 2017 budget.’’
But the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, appeared more cautious in his remarks when he said that funding of projects would be on project-based release system to curb waste of public funds by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
He also said that part of the requirement for capital releases was evidence of compliance with the Bureau of Public Procurement Act.
“We are worried and concerned about the number of abandoned capital projects scattered in their thousands throughout the country, which we inherited from previous administrations. We know that you can’t continue doing things the same way and expect different result, so we have to do things differently. We need to have more targeted releases. We have to look at the projects which are important and can easily be completed.
“The Ministers are working together to ensure that over time, we concentrate our resources on completing important projects so that we have maximum impact,’’ Udoma said.
He said the Ministry was working with the National Assembly to get the country’s fiscal year adjusted to between January and December.
This, he said, could be achieved only when the executive and legislature work together to ensure that the budget is submitted, passed and signed before December 31, 2017.
Meanwhile, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo had in June, while signing the 2017 appropriation bill into law, said the N7.44 trillion budget was a milestone in the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan programme put in place by President Muhammadu Buhari in April.
The National Assembly passed the 2017 Appropriation Bill on May 10, after raising it from the N7.28 trillion earlier proposed by President Buhari in December last year, to N7.44 trillion. But the fear of most Nigerians is that 2017 capital projects may not be implemented at all with four months to end of the year.