Economist Tasks Govts On Alternative Financing

The Federal and State Governments in Nigeria have been urged to use alternative financing options rather than borrowing to finance infrastructure development.
A Development Economist and financial expert, Dr Chiwuike Uba, gave the advice in Enugu on Wednesday in a statement he made available to the media.
According to Dr Chiwuike, who is also the Board Chairman of Amaka Chiwuike Uba Foundation (ACUF), as a country, “we should check the propensity to accumulate public debt under the pretext of financing capital projects, by actively seeking alternative project financing options, especially through the Public-Private-Community-Partnership (PPCP) arrangement”.
He said fiscal viability cannot be created and sustained with a growing budget deficit funded by public debt, lamenting that analysis of the 2023 budget shows that “there is no concrete strategy to jumpstart the economy.
“The N21,827.19 trillion 2023 Federal Government Budget passed into law by the National Assembly and assented by the President on January 3, 2023, is worthy of commendation by Nigerians.
“First, the timely presentation of the budget to the National Assembly offered the minimum time required for an adequate and detailed legislative review of the budget documents.
“The revenue and expenditure projections in the Federal Government 2023 budget, known as the ‘Budget of Fiscal Consolidation and Transition’, appear to be inconsistent with the budget’s policy direction contained in the President’s Budget Speech.
“While the strategic objective of the budget is to ‘maintain fiscal viability and ensure a smooth transition to the incoming administration’, the budget figures are not in agreement and are incapable of achieving the budget objectives.
“First, fiscal viability cannot be created and sustained with a growing budget deficit funded by public debt and no concrete strategy to jumpstart the economy.
“In particular, where more of the public debt are allocated to the financing of recurrent expenses. The average budgeted deficit and the actual deficit between 2015 and 2022 are 56 per cent and 111 per cent respectively.
“In 2016, it was 47 per cent, and 45 per cent for deficit budget and actual deficit, 57 per cent and 74 per cent in 2016; 46 per cent and 143 per cent in 2017; 27 per cent and 94 per cent in 2018; 27 per cent and 101 per cent in 2019”.

By: Canice Amadi, Enugu