Minister of
Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, at the weekend took the
2018-2020 MTEF and FSP consultations exercise to Lagos where he
met with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), private sector operators (PSO) and the general public.
met with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), private sector operators (PSO) and the general public.
A statement
in Abuja yesterday by his Media Adviser, Mr. James Akpandem, said the minister
presented draft proposals for the Medium Term Fiscal Framework/Fiscal Strategy
Paper (MTFF/FSP) 2018-2020 and asked for suggestions and inputs which could be
considered for inclusion in the final Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF),
which would serve as the basis for the 2018 budget.
He pointed
out that the proposals he was presenting for the consideration of the general
public were drawn from the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) (2017-2020)
which is the blueprint guiding all the economic plans of the government.
He reminded
them that the ERGP was itself the product of extensive consultations with a
broad spectrum of Nigerians, including development experts, top economists and
other critical stakeholders. He went on to say that all budgets prepared within
the plan period must be drawn from and align with the provisions of the ERGP.
Udoma
explained the basis for the key assumptions and macroeconomic framework
contained in the proposed MTEF, particularly projections for oil production
levels, crude oil price benchmark, exchange rate, inflation rate and GDP growth
rate among others. These were all being exposed for consideration and
discussion purposes. Accordingly, he welcomed comments and suggestions on them.
The budget
minister said the consultations is for the purpose of seeking public input into
the preparation of the MTEF, and is as recommended by the provisions of the
Fiscal Responsibility Act.
The minister
explained that though government’s plan, as set out in the ERGP, is to
diversify the economy as soon as possible away from reliance on crude oil
proceeds, we need the revenues from crude oil to fund the necessary
infrastructure investments that are required to provide the enabling
environment for the diversification of the economy into agriculture, manufacturing,
construction and services.
“You have to
use what you have to get what you want”, he stressed.
He also
explained that government is aware of the diminishing long term prospects of
crude oil, which is why it is important that we maximize the use and exploitation
of our petroleum resources now. This was also why government was determined to
move away from exporting raw crude oil but instead to encourage local refining
and processing, as well as the local production of the various derivatives from
crude oil for which there will continue to be domestic and international
demand.
Addressing
concerns raised over the level of borrowing and the continued provision for
deficit in the budget, the Minister explained that the issue is not so much of
a debt problem, but much more of a revenue problem.
According to
him, even with our current levels of borrowings the country’s fiscal deficit is
still well within the three per cent (3%) limit prescribed by the Fiscal
Responsibility Act, and government is continuously monitoring the deficit level
to ensure that it remains within the 3% threshold.
Part of the
measures he said government is considering to raise the general level of taxes’
collection, is to increase Value Added Tax, and other taxes, on luxury items.
For this purpose the Federal Government is consulting the States and the
National Assembly. The increase, he emphasized, will not affect general goods
and everyday services utilized by the average citizen Guardian reported.
0 Comments