No new projects in 2013 budget –FG
July 11, 2012 by Ifeanyi Onuba 1 Comment
Director-General, Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogu
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The Federal Government on Tuesday said it would not approve anynew project proposals submitted by its ministries, department and agencies for the 2013 fiscal year.
The Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, Dr. Bright Okogu, said this in Abuja at a consultative meeting on the 2013 budget with the Organised Private Sector and Civil Society Organisations.
He also said that some MDAs with huge debts might not receive capital votes in 2013 as their allocations would be used to pay off their debts.
Okogu said paucity of funds had made it imperative for the decisionon new projects to be taken, adding that there was the need for the MDAs to prioritise few of their ongoing projects based on their internal rate of return and level of completion.
The DG said about 630 MDA projects requiring N7tn were currentlyongoing.
He said, “The fiscal consolidation efforts would be sustained because there is need for prudence in the management of public financial resources. Given resource constraints, we propose the following strategy to allocate capital vote; no new project will be allowed in the 2013 budget.
“MDAs need to prioritise a few of their ongoing projects based on the projects’ internal rate of return and level of completion. Some MDAS with large debts may not receive capital votes as their allocations will be used to pay off their debts.”
The DG also gave a hint that priority sectors, including security, power, works, agriculture, Niger Delta, aviation, health, education, transport and job creation would receive 80 per cent of the country’s capital vote in 2013.
He, however, said the Federal Government was currently negotiating with the National Assembly to reduce allocations for members’ constituency projects.
Okogu said recurrent expenditure, which was trending down from 74.4 per cent in 2011 to 71.5 per cent, would further be reduced in 2013.
This, he said, would be achieved through a combination of measures such as rationalisation of agencies, recovery of excessive claims on subsidy and cautious benchmark of oil prices.
Meanwhile, the Citizens Wealth Platform, a group of non-governmental and faith-based organisations also at the event urged the Federal Government to avoid all illegitimate and wastefulexpenditures in the 2013 budget.