The World Bank Group is set to assist State Governments improve their fiscal sustainability by strengthening and consolidating the Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP). The FSP was introduced by the Federal Government in 2016 as part of the measures to tackle the 2015-2016 fiscal crisis that followed the decline in revenue and budget cuts leading to two financial bailouts for the States by the Federal Government.
The Director of Press, Ministry of Finance, Salisu Danbata who disclosed this in Abuja yesterday said the plan was also an instrument for reforming the whole gamut of the Public Sector Financial Management (PSFM) system spanning the three tiers of government.
The 22-point FSP was acceded to by the State Governments in 2016 to implement fundamental reforms by taking measures including instilling a regime of fiscal transparency and accountability, improving Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), the taming of unnecessary recurrent expenditure and strengthening adherence to debt management guidelines by the States.
The proposed intervention by the World Bank, according to him, would involve financing capacity building and providing technical support for officials in the 36 States of the Federation by equipping them with the requisite knowledge and skills to effectively manage the comprehensive implementation of the components of the FSP on a sustainable basis.
The objective was to ensure that the states were put on the path that would lead them out of the situation in which they have to be bailed out or fail to meet their financial obligations for the wellbeing of the citizenry.
The capacity building programme would also include imparting skills that would contribute in the successful implementation of the Open Government Partnership commitments with the view to boosting the fiscal transparency and accountability component of the Fiscal Sustainability Plan.