Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance |
This initiative, which promises to
assist in stimulating and reviving the economy, lends itself to a commendation
for the government for its sensitivity to the yearnings of the citizens.
However, it must be quickly pointed out that, a few weeks ago, Finance Minister,
Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, informed the nation that the government was owing
road contractors alone the sum of N1 trillion. Given this staggering
indebtedness, the planned injection of only N350 billion will only be puny
compared to the outstanding debt problem. Besides, it seems that if a
contractor is unable to show evidence of the capacity to re-absorb its already
disengaged employees, the government is inferring that such a contractor will
not benefit from the economic stimulation fund (ESF) of N350 billion.
The minister did not disclose the
rationale for and process to be adopted to ensure that all creditor-contractors
of the government are considered on a level playing field devoid of
manipulation, favouritism and corruption. This necessitates the need for
caution, for objectivity, fairness and transparency. Beyond the above, however,
every contractor of the government who had performed in accordance with the
terms of his contract deserves to be paid whatever is due to him, without the
new conditionality. The new condition may be reserved for contractors to be
awarded new contracts but certainly not for those who are being owed after they
had concluded their projects. By the way, what will happen if a contractor
shows the so-called ‘proof’’ to re-engage some laid-off staff and after getting
paid, reneges?
Given the socio-economic situation
the country is in now, government should avoid any policy that will call to
question its integrity and erode the confidence of the people – contactors and
non-contractors alike in it. Good practice dictates that if a contractor has a
job that will require re-hiring disengaged or new hands, provided they are
Nigerians, let that be the contractor’s decision to make. The interest of
government and the people should be to ensure that there is value for money
paid.
Without losing the objective of
stimulating the economy with the N350 billion, it is imperative that the
government must ask itself some key questions. For example, how best should the
stimulation fund be deployed; on which areas should attention be focused and
what are the timelines within which to expect results? Therefore, it is germane
that if actually government is ready to stimulate the economy, the main area of
immediate focus should be production of food for the people. As evidenced from
the recent report of the National Bureau of Statistics, inflation in the food
sub-sector of the economy was high compared to others. As it were, food is a
basic human need. Again, food importation is reported to be high on the scale
of the country’s total imports. To address the most immediate needs of the
citizenry, therefore, food production should be a priority of the government.
Properly injected, the N350 billion can have a measure of positive impact not
only against the level of poverty and hunger but also towards the moderation of
inflation, foreign exchange rate and unemployment rates as well as conservation
of foreign exchange.
Now, it needs to be emphasised that
the voting and injection of money into the economy are not necessarily the main
challenge at hand. The real challenge is the preparations that have been made
to ensure that such funds are injected into the areas of the economy that have
the best opportunities in producing the greatest results. Furthermore,
appropriate supportive implementation strategies, monitoring and supervisory
frameworks should be emplaced to drive the process successfully. It is also
exigent that focus is consistently kept on the objectives to be attained and
every effort directed thereto. Stimulating and reviving the economy quickly
before Nigerians become more distrustful is a major challenge. The government
should specifically take ownership of and responsibility for overseeing that
the huge tasks are successfully accomplished. (Guardian)
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