on Thursday ended a three-day live,
online interactive conversation with the
Coordinating Minister for the Economy
and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala.
The conversation, themed, "Budget
2014 Jam," afforded the youths the
opportunity to bare their minds on the
2014 budget and its implications for the
economy.
While registered participants hooked up
with the host via
www.budget2014jam.com for a live
streaming with the minister, others
logged on to the various forums created
for the programme on
collaborationjam.com.
Members of the forums quizzed the
minister on issues ranging from job
creation, to power supply, high cost of
doing business, high rate of corruption
and debt management.
But of particular interest to the majority
of them is the country's debt burden.
They say it will be unfair for the
Goodluck Jonathan administration to
keep mounting debts for future
generations.
They say it's time the FG curtailed the
domestic debt profile so as not to roll it
over to the next generation.
An economist and consultant based in
South Africa, Nono Obokoli, argues that
Nigeria is not in a healthy debt position.
He says the revelation that the bulk of
Nigeria's debt is domestic is a source of
worry to the younger generation.
"Nigeria is not exactly in a debt crisis,
but we are definitely not in a healthy
debt position. But more worrying is the
fact that the bulk of Nigeria's debt is
domestic. In the event of a crisis, there
will be no easy way to get round it," he
writes.
An IT professional based in the Federal
Capital Territory, Chukwuemeka Victor,
says an efficient debt management
initiative which draws heavily on fiscal
prudence is key.
He urges the Federal Government to
demonstrate a strong commitment to
greater transparency and reduction in
leakages as a result of corrupt practices.
He argues that the burgeoning salaries
of public office holders, stories of
missing funds running into billions of
dollars, and other forms of financial
recklessness will not help in curtailing
the mounting debt profile.
"Unnecessary luxury such as acquisition
of additional presidential jets, leakages
in the system, missing funds and other
financial recklessness of our leaders will
not assist in reducing domestic
borrowing," he adds.
But just as Victor harps on greater
transparency in the workings of the FG,
Egu Arikpo, a civil society advocate
based in Rivers State, questions the
sincerity of the Jonathan administration
in fighting corruption.
Arikpo accuses the FG of underfunding
the anti-corruption agencies, going by
the allocations earmarked for them in
the 2014 budget under review.
He says, "The total allocation to the
EFCC, ICPC and the Code of Conduct
Bureau, which are, more or less, our
anti-corruption agencies, is a small
fraction of the money earmarked for the
office of the Secretary to the
Government of the Federation. Is this
how to fight corruption?
"Corruption kills and our seriousness in
the fight against it determines the
performance of the overall indicators of
the Nigerian economy. If we cannot
allocate more resources towards fighting
this scourge, we will end up defeating
the entire purpose of the annual
budget."
Meanwhile, many participants at the
interactive session also carpeted
Okonjo-Iweala on the relevance of the
Subsidy Re-Investment and
Empowerment Programme.
In fact, many respondents in a poll
conducted on the portal say they do not
know how the programme has
improved the lives of Nigerians.
Responding to the question, "Do you
know how SURE-P is using subsidy funds
to improve the lives of Nigerians?", 67
per cent of the respondents indicate
that they do not know; while 22 per
cent say they can pinpoint the impact
the programme is making. The
remaining 11 per cent say they are
unsure.
Commenting on the forum, an
unemployed graduate, Analechi Nnadi,
states that the management of the
SURE-P is playing politics with its
operations. He advocates closer
monitoring by the finance minister.
"The failure of the programme stems
from the fact that politicians have
hijacked it. They are not using it as a
means of helping the poor masses but
their rich brothers. The government
should monitor the programme very
well to see if the things get to the
people they are meant for," he declares.
Okonjo-Iweala, in response to some of
the concerns raised by the participants,
says the FG has taken note of their
suggestions and ideas.
On the management of the country's
debt, she says, "It is good to see the
ongoing conversation on debt
management. It is good to hear the
views of the youth on this topic,
especially since most of these debts will
have to be repaid when you (the youth)
are leaders of our country. But we have
begun paying down our domestic debts,
rather than rolling it over when they
become due."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR OLANIYI GIDEON OLUSEYI
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