FG’s recurrent spending to spike on Buhari’s pro – poor programmes

Nigeria’s recurrent expenditure will likely a take jump, beginning next year, as the President Muhammadu Buhari government begins to implement those special programmes mapped out to address the huge challenges of poverty and non-inclusiveness in the country.

Aliyu Gusau , director-general, Budget Office gave the indication yesterday, during one of the panel discussions at the just concluded Nigerian Economic Summit which dealt on “Tough Choices: Achieving Competitiveness, Inclusive growth and Sustainability”.

Buhari  is now adopting what he calls ‘a home grown’ strategy, including social security and specific programmes for the poor and vulnerable in the Nigerian society, in order to fix  identified  local challenges.

However, as contained in the Medium Term Plan being worked out, the Federal Government is projecting to allocate 22.43 per cent of the total expenditure in the 2016 budget to capital projects and the remaining 77.57 percent to recurrent, higher than in the 2015 budget.

“Let me shock the audience a bit. I think the recurrent expenditure is likely to go up next year, particularly when  you look at the focus of the current administration,” the DG Budget said at the panel on National budget framework to aid competitiveness,  inclusive growth and sustainability.

“Some of the programmes and projects they are going to implement will have high impacts on capital but they are actually recurrent in nature, like the Conditional Cash Transfers, the School feeding  programme, graduate scheme and so on.

“But it is not in the normal component of the budget expenditure we are used to, so I think it is something that we should all have at the back of our minds,” he added.

Gusau also noted that his office and the ministry of planning, would engage critical stakeholders in the formulation of the budgetary framework to forestall legislative and executive  tensions that often characterise the passing of budgets in the country.

The DG informed that the office would  be engaging the National Assembly and other critical stakeholders  at each stage of the budgetary process.

He added, “What we would be doing differently is that we wouldn’t wait till we finish the budgetary process. We would engage the National Assembly as we are articulating the budget and the plans. We are likely to commence discussions with them.

“We are already explaining to them on every step we are taking,the new dimensions of the budget ,rather than just giving them a paper to go and pass without them making their own input”he added.

Corroborating DG Budget’s assertion, Ben Akabueze, former Commissioner, Budget and Planning, Lagos State, said the “fairly ambitious social protection of the new administration  has to be funded.

“Therefore, as we think about how these are going to be funded,  I am not sure whether the available funding would be sufficient to drive the programmes, he stated.

Bassey Ekpeyong,the Secretary of the National Planning Commission, who also featured as a panelist, said that they are developing a National Planning framework that would align with the medium term plan.

“That is why we are working closely with the budget office of the Federation in preparation of the 2016 budget and the medium term framework of 2016 -2020.I think this would be sustained in achieving a sustainable growth and  development.”

Also speaking at the session on ways of developing a robust budget and simplifying the process going forward, Kyari Abba Bukar, chairman of NESG,  informed that the National Assembly had also assured that they have a joint committee that would periodically sit down and have a candid conversation on the economic strategy of the government.

Shamsudeen Usman, former minister of Finance , however challenged the director-general of the Budget Office of the federation to ensure that budgets are prepared nine months ahead, so that there is enough time to discuss policy implementation and fiscal plans ,alongside all the negotiations  for easier passage of the budget.

Making further suggestions to the government on budgets , Ayo Teriba ,CEO Economic Associates, observed that the  2016 budget, being the first of this new administration, must be carefully planned, considering that the implementation of the 2015 budget was low.

“We spent huge sums on debt servicing, than capital spending. I thought that would address how the fiscal crisis is being fixed. Crude oil theft, subsidy fraud and other issues.”

Onyinye Nwachukwu & Harrison Edeh