My economic measures may lead to hardships - Buhari
President
Muhammadu Buhari
says the economic
measures his
administration must
take may lead to
hardships.
The president stated
this Sunday morning
in his Democracy Day
nationwide broadcast.
He said his
government had
resolved to keep the
Naira steady as
devaluation had done
dreadful harm to the
Nigerian economy in
the past.
He said he supported
the monetary
authority’s decision to
ensure alignment
between monetary
policy and fiscal
policy, saying that
government would
keep a close look on
how the recent
measures affect the
Naira and the
economy.
"But we cannot get
away from the fact
that a strong currency is predicated on a
strong economy. And a strong economy
pre-supposes an industrial productive
base and a steady export market. The
measures we must take may lead to
hardships," he said.
Buhari, who acknowledged that the
problems Nigerians had faced in the last
one year had been many and varied,
stressed that the real challenge for his
government had been reconstructing the
spine of the Nigerian state.
He said the last twelve months had been
spent collaborating with all arms of
government to revive institutions so that
to make them more efficient and fit for
purpose.
"That means a bureaucracy better able to
develop and deliver policy. That means an
independent judiciary, above suspicion
and able to defend citizen’s rights and
dispense justice equitably. That means a
legislature that actually legislates
effectively and above all; that means
political parties and politicians committed
to serving the Nigerian people rather than
themselves. These are the pillars of the
state on which democracy can take root
and thrive. But only if they are strong and
incorruptible. Accordingly, we are working
very hard to introduce some vital
structural reforms in the way we conduct
government business and lay a solid
foundation on which we can build
enduring change," he said.
He said an important first step had been
to get the government's housekeeping
right.
So we have reduced the extravagant
spending of the past. We started boldly
with the treasury single account, stopping
the leakages in public expenditure," the
president stated.
He said his administration had identified
43,000 ghost workers through the
Integrated Payroll and Personnel
Information system, saying "That
represents pay packets totalling N4.2
billion stolen every month."
The president said the government would
save N23 billion per annum from official
travelling and sitting allowances alone.
"Furthermore, the efficiency unit will cut
costs and eliminate duplications in
ministries and departments. Every little
saving helps. The reduction in the number
of ministries and work on restructuring
and rationalization of the MDAs is well
underway. When this work is complete we
will have a leaner, more efficient public
service that is fit for the purpose of
changing nigeria for the good and for
good.
"As well as making savings, we have
changed the way public money is spent. In
all my years as a public servant, I have
never come across the practice of
padding budgets. I am glad to tell you now
we not only have a budget, but more
importantly, we have a budget process
that is more transparent, more inclusive
and more closely tied to our development
priorities than in the recent past. 30% of
the expenditure in this budget is devoted
to capital items. Furthermore, we are
projecting non-oil revenues to surpass
proceeds from oil. Some critics have
described the budget exercise as clumsy.
Perhaps. But it was an example of
consensus building, which is integral to
democratic government. In the end we
resolved our differences," he said.
Buhari admitted that his government had
made the very painful but inevitable
decisions in the last few weeks
"specifically on the pump price of fuel and
the more flexible exchange rate policy
announced by the Central Bank.
He said it was even more painful for him
that a major producer of crude oil with
four refineries that once exported refined
products today had to import all of its
domestic needs.
He emphasised: "This is what corruption
and mismanagement has done to us and
that is why we must fight these ills."
He said as part of the foundation of the
new economy, his administration had to
reform how fuel prices had traditionally
been fixed.
Explaining how the government arrived at
the decision to hike fuel price from
N86.50 to N145, Buhari said: "This step
was taken only after protracted
consideration of its pros and cons. After
comprehensive investigation, my advisers
and I concluded that the mechanism was
unsustainable."
Muhammadu Buhari
says the economic
measures his
administration must
take may lead to
hardships.
The president stated
this Sunday morning
in his Democracy Day
nationwide broadcast.
He said his
government had
resolved to keep the
Naira steady as
devaluation had done
dreadful harm to the
Nigerian economy in
the past.
He said he supported
the monetary
authority’s decision to
ensure alignment
between monetary
policy and fiscal
policy, saying that
government would
keep a close look on
how the recent
measures affect the
Naira and the
economy.
"But we cannot get
away from the fact
that a strong currency is predicated on a
strong economy. And a strong economy
pre-supposes an industrial productive
base and a steady export market. The
measures we must take may lead to
hardships," he said.
Buhari, who acknowledged that the
problems Nigerians had faced in the last
one year had been many and varied,
stressed that the real challenge for his
government had been reconstructing the
spine of the Nigerian state.
He said the last twelve months had been
spent collaborating with all arms of
government to revive institutions so that
to make them more efficient and fit for
purpose.
"That means a bureaucracy better able to
develop and deliver policy. That means an
independent judiciary, above suspicion
and able to defend citizen’s rights and
dispense justice equitably. That means a
legislature that actually legislates
effectively and above all; that means
political parties and politicians committed
to serving the Nigerian people rather than
themselves. These are the pillars of the
state on which democracy can take root
and thrive. But only if they are strong and
incorruptible. Accordingly, we are working
very hard to introduce some vital
structural reforms in the way we conduct
government business and lay a solid
foundation on which we can build
enduring change," he said.
He said an important first step had been
to get the government's housekeeping
right.
So we have reduced the extravagant
spending of the past. We started boldly
with the treasury single account, stopping
the leakages in public expenditure," the
president stated.
He said his administration had identified
43,000 ghost workers through the
Integrated Payroll and Personnel
Information system, saying "That
represents pay packets totalling N4.2
billion stolen every month."
The president said the government would
save N23 billion per annum from official
travelling and sitting allowances alone.
"Furthermore, the efficiency unit will cut
costs and eliminate duplications in
ministries and departments. Every little
saving helps. The reduction in the number
of ministries and work on restructuring
and rationalization of the MDAs is well
underway. When this work is complete we
will have a leaner, more efficient public
service that is fit for the purpose of
changing nigeria for the good and for
good.
"As well as making savings, we have
changed the way public money is spent. In
all my years as a public servant, I have
never come across the practice of
padding budgets. I am glad to tell you now
we not only have a budget, but more
importantly, we have a budget process
that is more transparent, more inclusive
and more closely tied to our development
priorities than in the recent past. 30% of
the expenditure in this budget is devoted
to capital items. Furthermore, we are
projecting non-oil revenues to surpass
proceeds from oil. Some critics have
described the budget exercise as clumsy.
Perhaps. But it was an example of
consensus building, which is integral to
democratic government. In the end we
resolved our differences," he said.
Buhari admitted that his government had
made the very painful but inevitable
decisions in the last few weeks
"specifically on the pump price of fuel and
the more flexible exchange rate policy
announced by the Central Bank.
He said it was even more painful for him
that a major producer of crude oil with
four refineries that once exported refined
products today had to import all of its
domestic needs.
He emphasised: "This is what corruption
and mismanagement has done to us and
that is why we must fight these ills."
He said as part of the foundation of the
new economy, his administration had to
reform how fuel prices had traditionally
been fixed.
Explaining how the government arrived at
the decision to hike fuel price from
N86.50 to N145, Buhari said: "This step
was taken only after protracted
consideration of its pros and cons. After
comprehensive investigation, my advisers
and I concluded that the mechanism was
unsustainable."
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