The effective implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government, which is expected to be launched next month by President Muhammadu Buhari, will enable the country get out of economic recession this year, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, has said.
Udoma gave the assurance in Abuja on Thursday during a meeting with an 11-man team of the National Executive Council of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors led by its President, Mrs. Mercy Iyortyer.
The minister said the economic recovery plan would be a detailed document that would bring together the various plans that had been put together by the Economic Management Team.
The documents are the Strategic Implementation Plan from which the Medium Term Expenditure and Fiscal Strategy Paper was developed, and the Medium Term Sector Strategies.
The Ministry of Budget and National Planning had developed sectoral plans in five thematic areas as part of the economic recovery plan.
They are macroeconomic stability, where the focus will be on fiscal and monetary condition, low inflation, stable exchange rate and strong economic growth; and economic diversification and building competitiveness in the private sector.
Others are job creation and social inclusion; and governance issues such as security and human capital development.
Udoma told the executive members of the NIQS that the 2017 budget was designed to achieve stability, get the country out of recession, and set the platform for economic growth in the coming years.
The minister expressed optimism that the wide consultation his ministry had undertaken with governors of the 36 states of the federation, the National Assembly, other ministers, the private sector and the international community, among others, in the development of the recovery plan would also provide a veritable template for the implementation of the 2017 budget.
Udoma said, “The thrust of the Federal Government’s recovery plan is to diversify the economy, strengthen the agricultural production base and its value chain in order to achieve self-sufficiency in food production, intensify infrastructural development, create the enabling environment for manufacturing, create jobs, stabilise and strengthen the value of the naira.
“Government is prioritising infrastructural development, which is evident in the 2017 budgetary allocations, especially for road construction, airports’ rehabilitation, as well as power and rail infrastructure.”
He blamed the current economic situation on the collapse of oil prices in the international market and disruption in Nigeria’s crude production, which had impacted negatively on government’s revenue.
The minister reaffirmed his commitment to continue to work closely with the NIQS, particularly in the areas of capacity building, costing of government projects, sustained monitoring and evaluation.
This, according to him, will help to ensure that the government achieves value for money in the implementation of its development programmes.
In her comments, the NIQS president explained that the institute would collaborate with the ministry in the areas of prudent costing of projects, budget tracking, monitoring and evaluation as well as post-contract auditing.
Iyortyer lamented that improper costing of projects was partly responsible for variations, delayed implementation and sometimes outright abandonment of government projects.
She commended the minister for bringing innovations into the budgeting process through the zero-based budget system despite the challenges of dwindling revenue and other socio-economic problems.
