Abubakar Yunusa Abuja
ActionAid Nigeria in collaboration with BudgIt, Christian Aid,Centre for Social Justice ‘CSJ ‘ and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have said borrowing for recurrent expenditure and dilatory capital expenditure add no value to economic growth, wealth creation and development.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, ActionAid, Programme Manager, Governance, Celestine Okwudili, explained that savings identified as frivolous, inappropriate and wasteful expenditure should be re-channelled to capital expenditure.
He noted that the mandatory use of a Treasury Single Account for all GOE financial transactions is to strengthen the administration and management of TSA to ensure that no expenditure and income is recorded outside its system.
He said the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) should introduce technology to automate VAT collection so that once the payee pays VAT, it is automatically deducted by FIRS.
“National Assembly should reorganise the River Basin Development Authorities to work with the private sector as commercial enterprises that will be run for profit and ensure that FGN’s share of their profits are treated as funds from other GOES”,he said
Programme manager at Centre for Social Justice Nigeria, Fidelis Oylnyejgbe, said the process of appropriation in the National Assembly should not be ignored under the prevailing economic realities.
“Amendment of macroeconomics assumption should not simply target increasing the envelope of government spending on items that can drain revenue rather than build capital.
“NASS should avoid duplication of projects, insertion of frivolous expenditure items,as well as incoherent upward and downward reviews of allocation that appear to be directed towards consumption instead of development,”he said.
Manager at Open Government Institution in Partnership (OGIP) Tolutope Agunloye urged organised labour, private sector and the public to negotiate with relevant information and design a social intervention programme to cushion hardship.
He also charge them to adjust exchange rate to close the gap between the official and other exchange rates, saying that increasing productivity and local value addition would lead to economic growth.
