Commissioner calls for training for MDAs in budget designs, implementation
Budget
By Collins Yakubu-Hammer
Abuja, May 8, 2019 (NAN)Malam Muhammad Abdullahi, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Budget and Planning, has called for training in budget designs and implementation for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Abdullahi who mae ths call in an interview wit the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said it was regrettable that implementation of government budget did not usually meet the specified or expected level of success.
“There is the need for comprehensive budget management training for the entire MDAs to enable them understand how to roll out large-scale projects.
“If our MDAs are well equipped on how to effectively implement budget, we will experience successful implementation and our peoples’ live will be impacted.
“The absorptive capacity of our MDAs is a serious challenge to effective budget implementation.
“Sometimes, even when the budgeted funds are there, the capacity of our agencies to create a process, do procurement, get and deploy contractors to the field is very low.
“So, it is not just a money issue but the capacity to deliver projects.
The commissioner said it was out of place to overstate the revenue profile of a budget.
According to him, overstating the revenue profile of a budget could affect implementation of that budget.
“If one of the revenue indicators does not perform, for example, the price of revenue lowers, Customs and Inland Revenue Services do not generate enough funds, then it affects our implementation.
“Revenue overestimation for the budget could impede and destabilise effective implementation.
“Thus, we have to be able to move towards a realistic budget and more credible budgeting,’’ Abdullahi said.
The Kaduna State official added that late passage of budget was also not good for the economy and affected implementation.
According to him, it took over seven months for the 2019 National Appropriation Bill (budget) to be passed.
“The National Assembly just passed the 2019 budget last week; however, they have not done the harmonisation. This is terrible because we are almost half through the year.
“Before you start procurement for road projects for example, the rainy season is already here and you basically cannot do anything on road construction with the current budget.
“You have to wait till the end of the rainy season; the issue of budget formulation process has been marred by problems.
“Nigeria as a country has not been able to align its fiscal calendar with the budget calendar.
“In Kaduna, we have achieved that, every budget we have done for the last four years starts before January of the preceding year, and that has allowed us enough time to implement major parts of it.
“For example, we have been achieving up to 70 per cent to 80 per cent budget implementation in Kaduna,’’ the commissioner said.
On economic growth in the country, Abdullahi said that the depth of the Nigerian economy in 2016 was mainly because of the recorded low price of oil was about 28 dollars per barrel.
He explained that the situation dragged the economy with it, because the economy had been a mono-crop type with limited diversification.
“But, even when we had 7 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the country, there were still no jobs, because the growth that we always had was one that did not produce job opportunities.
“This is because the growth was not accompanied by job opportunities; the growth did not relate to jobs.
“In the next few years, we need to capacitate our people to ensure they have the health and education to move up the social ladder.
“This year for us in Kaduna, we are still looking at the GDP increase. We are trying to ensure that this increase also comes with job opportunties,’’ Abdullahi said. (NAN)
CMY/COF/SH
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Editing by Oluyinka Fadare/Sadiya Hamza