Recurrent Expenditure: Federal Government to slash by N300billion
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The Federal Government has disclosed plans to reduce the country’s recurrent expenditure by N300bn annually by implementing strategies.Information gathered has it that the strategies prepared by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning would further reduce personnel costs by eliminating ghost workers amongst others.A copy of the document showing details of the plan indicated that five agencies of government had been assigned the tasks of implementing the strategies.The Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Bureau of Public Procurement and Debt Management Office, were the five implementing agencies.Based on the plan of the government, there will be massive reduction in the frequency of travels and sitting allowance; reduction in printing and publication expenditure as well as introduction of new allowable expenses guidelines and templates to control the expenses of government-owned enterprises.Extension of the integrated payroll and personnel Information System, optimizing overhead by “doing more with less”, and making the bidding process in public procurement more competitive, are other cost cutting measures to be implemented 5ystem.This would involve creating clusters for government agencies to share information and communication technology infrastructure and support services, thereby bringing down the cost of overheads.Senator Udo Udoma, while speaking on government’s strategy to take the economy to the path of development, mentioned that the first step was for the government to focus on its priorities, adding that this would be followed by establishing detailed action plans.He said other implementation strategies would involve mobilisation and allocation of resources to priority areas; creation of an enabling policy and regulatory environment; and setting up delivery units to monitor finances and drive progress.“We are focused on the full and effective implementation of every aspect of the recovery plan.“We are pursuing a path that will move Nigeria away from jobless growth driven mainly by petroleum revenues to an inclusive and broad-based growth.“We cannot enjoy the benefits of the economic growth plan unless it is effectively and faithfully implemented. We have already commenced the process of developing a detailed implementation road map.“This will lay out the road map for a step by step delivery of each of the strategies. Each strategy will be further broken down into components activities, sub-activities and actions.”“Each action will be supported by clearly assigned responsibilities; it will be sequenced against clear milestones and timelines for ease of monitoring,” Udoma said.
