2016 budget: Planning ministry offers technical support to MDAs on zero budgeting

In the bid to ensure quick implementation of government’s zero budgeting plan in the 2016 fiscal year, the Ministry of Budget and National Planning has commenced bilateral meetings with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in order to provide further technical support aimed at improving the quality of their submission, preparatory to their formal response to the 2016 budget.

Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s Vice President, had said government planned to use a zero-based budgeting format for its 2016 budget planning to achieve a policy-driven approach to governance, especially the proposed social intervention policy of the Buhari administration.

As contained in a statement signed by Salisu Haiba Badamasi, the minister of budget and national planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, explained that “a dedicated Help Desk has been established within the Ministry of Budget and National Planning to provide hands on technical support to MDAs’ core teams involved in the preparation of budgets so as to clean up their completed ZBB templates. The session will also be used to build capacity of MDAs core teams on the process of consolidating all MDAs inputs into a single Ministry submission.”

According to the minister, the Help Desk is composed of officials of Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the Federal Public Administration Reform Programme Nigeria (FEPAR), team of consultants.

The meeting with the MDAs has commenced Wednesday, December 2, 2015, and will last till Sunday, December 6, 2015, at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja, according to the minister.

“A schedule for the appearances of all the MDAs has already been designed and communicated to them,” the minister informed

It could be recalled that, the Honourable Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmad, had also on assumption of duty, Thursday, November 12, 2015, stated that 2016 budget is the top priority of the Ministry and that work to that effect will start in earnest.

Over the last three months, officials of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning have been working closely with the FEPAR team of consultants to provide support to MDAs with respect to identifying, prioritizing and costing projects and programmes for 2016 budget, in line with the identified policy thrust and programmes of the successor medium term plan, 2016 -2020.