States endorsed 22 -point fiscal reform plan , says minister
Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun
Cash-strapped federating states in Nigeria have agreed to adopt a 22- point fiscal governance reforms action plan in their domains, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun said in Abuja, yesterday.
Most of the 36 state governments are facing huge financial liquidity challenges, with many unable to pay salaries and meet other obligations such as contractors obligations , no thanks to the twin factors of dwindling revenue earnings for the country and profligacy by the state governors and their appointees.
Only last month, due to the inability of the states to service their bail-out intervention credit. the Federal Government had to reschedule the servicing of the debt advanced to them in the wake of an embarrassing labour crisis across the Federation over unpaid wages in the early life of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
However, the Finance Minister yesterday disclosed that at the last National Economic Council ( NEC) meeting in Abuja last Thursday, involving state governors , the monetary and fiscal authorities as well as past leaders of the country, the states agreed to tow the Federal Government’s fiscal reforms programme to check against revenue leakage and corruption so as to save funds to meet their obligations .
Adeosun who made the revelation in a statement released by her Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Festus Akanbi said: “ States have agreed to reform the finances of state and local governments under a Fiscal Sustainability Programme to ensure their long term viability.
“ The 22-point fiscal reform action plan to be implemented by states mirrors the ongoing public financial management reforms being undertaken by the Federal Government, including: biometric capture of all civil servants, the establishment of an Efficiency Unit, implementation of Continuous Audit, improvement in Independently Generated Revenue (IGR) and measures to achieve sustainable debt management.
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2 Comments
This is a good step forward, however it doesn’t even begin to solve the problem of states. which is the lack of leadership to use the resources available to state to generate revenue to govern the each state. There needs to be a push for state to start investing in agriculture, power, waste management, small agro processing plant and in the long term invest in their solid minerals. To really solve the issue, state must be allowed to act as true federal units. which mean they should have their own security forces, be in control of solid minerals, electricity generation, distribution and transmission should be state by state or regional.
A good step but a bit too late. At last these stubborn grasshoppers reluctantly bowed to the tasking forces of economic realities. Sustainability anywhere has to be driven by passion, focus,insight ,foresight and not resistant, reluctant after–thoughts but lets give them a chance to rendezvous with reality
We will review and take appropriate action.