2017 Budget: A document haunted by past failures
- Budget performance in Nigeria for the last few years has been very poor
- Successive governments have failed to improve on the lives of the common man despite huge sums of money budgeted for the fiscal year
- Nigeria’s budget has grown from N948 billion in 1999 to N6.06 trillion in 2016
Following the presentation of the 2017 Budget to a joint session of the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari today, December 14, experts have probed into why the country’s budgets have failed to have a major impact on Nigerians, especially in the area of infrastructure.
Since 1999 when Nigeria returned back to civil rule, the budget has grown from N948 billion in 1999 to N6.06 trillion in 2016.
From 1999 to 2016, successive Nigerian governments have budgeted monies totalling N53 trillion with little or nothing to show for it.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007), Late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua (2007-2010), Dr Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2015) and incumbent Muhammadu Buhari (2015 – date) have not embarked on any major infrastructural project even with funds accrued to their governments every year.
The cycle in each Budget makes it cumbersome and vulnerable to abuse. Source: PLACNG
According to the experts, the budgets have failed to have any meaningful impact on Nigerians due to various issues which includes:
1. Frivolous and fictitious heads and duplication of items in the budget
2. High recurrent votes carefully crafted to boost ghost workers in the system scheme
3. Non-implementation of capital votes as planned
4. Abandonment of projects after mobilization
5. Duplication of office buildings, personnel and overhead cost
6. Corrupt procurement processes
7. Poor execution or non-execution of projects
8. Inconsistencies in projects’ preparation and timeframe
9. Ambiguous sub-heads in budgets
The former director-general of Bureau of Public Procurement, Emeka Eze, while in office lamented about the number of government projects abandoned across the country.
The projects, mainly budgeted for, stood at 19,000 as at May this year according to Eze.
According to The Guardian, Nigeria has budgeted N33.2 trillion in the last seven years, with recurrent expenditures averaging 72 per cent, leaving 28 per cent for capital votes.
Experts say an average of N900 billion yearly has been made in the last 17 years.
The head of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants of Nigeria, Mrs Oluwatoyin Ademola, said, “the duplications and ambiguous sub-heads in budgets show lack of transparency and poor processes. It is a pitiable situation for the country, given its place among the nations.
“Truly, if there’s a system and procedures, somebody should see something wrong in this development and somebody must be responsible and held responsible too.”
Many say successive government’s capital expenditure have failed and only succeeded in being a conduit pipe for corrupt public officials to fleece the country.
Nigerians have continued to get the short end of the stick from their leaders despite ambitious budgets.
Comrade Idowu Adelakan, the chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Lagos state chapter puts it succinctly: “It is a waste of economic resources; budgets have not been productive because it is a way of putting money in the pockets of politicians, the rich grows richer and the poor get poorer,”
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On his part, secretary-general of the Trade Union Congress , Musa Lawal, said previous budgets have not been productive due to lack of effective planning by government, which often planned for the short term.
But the present administration seems to be addressing some of the issues with budgeting especially with regards to funding as Nigeria battles economic recession.
The minister of budget and national planning, Mr Udoma Udo Udoma has revealed that the federal government will issue new oil licences in 2017 as a way of addressing the issue
Breakdown of the 2017 Budget. Source: Budgit
The minister made the comment when he appeared before the Senate Joint Committee on Appropriation and Finance to defend the revised Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
According to Udoma, the federal government would also review the current joint venture arrangements with oil companies, marginal oil fields as well as mount pressure on revenue generating agencies to surpass expected targets.
His words: “Non-oil revenues will rake in about N5.06 trillion. These revenues are expected to come from corporate and company taxes, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Stamp Duties, capital gains tax and value added tax.
“Others are Customs, excise, fees, surcharges on luxury items, special levies and federal government independent revenue.
“In actual dollar term, the 2017 budget is smaller. We have had challenges in revenue generation in funding the 2016 budget.’’
President Muhammadu Buhari proposed a N7.2trillion budget for 2017 at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, November 30, during which it was approved.
The approval of the budget, which is about 24 per cent higher than the 2016 budget is N6.06 trillion.
Buhari had expressed optimism that the 2017 budget would take Nigeria out of economic recession.
The president said with collective dedication and hard work, Nigerians would in 2017 overcome the economic difficulties, and return the country to the path of prosperity.
Meanwhile, the federal government have listed some projects it intends to carryout in 2017.
The projects are:
1. Fund an electric-vehicle commuter project in some cities
2. Tree-planting projects in the north
3. Off-grid solar-power projects producing as much as 1,200 megawatts in the north
4. Support environment-friendly projects in the Niger Delta where the government aims to eliminate gas flaring by 2019
5. Continue the clean-up of the Ogoni land oil spills
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