Bevista:
There are many loopholes that will be blocked to help the govt generate more revenue to implement it's programs. However, my point is that even without any extra revenue, the govt can still borrow to implement this program. We have been borrowing to pay salaries, support the bogus lifestyle of politicians and even bailout rich banks; so why can't we borrow to support the most vulnerable members of society.

Need I remind you again that the primary responsibility of govt is the SECURITY and WELFARE of its citizens.

Bevista:

There is always a budget constraint for every government. The govt will always need to prioritize

[["at this junction I agree,the question is do you have a copy of the budget and suggest to us what should be govt priorities with a 50% shortfall in revenue"]]


and accept opportunity cost. The govt has been borrowing for other programs.

We borrowed over N1trillion to pay for subsidy

[["this money is already ⅓ of this years budget"]]

The new govt is expecting support of $5billion from the US govt. ([
[[this money is not for Nigeria to use as budgetary allocation"]]

The previous govt borrowed over $20billion in 5 years. We are borrowing to support the bogus lifestyle of politicians.

"And yet we find it unacceptable to borrow N300billion to support the most vulnerable members of our society."
[[please go through my post,this money needs serious answers.]]

Are we even aware that the primary responsibility of government is SECURITY and WELFARE of its citizens?

"And we are not even talking about the macroeconomic multiplier effect of the program. Are you even aware that the PDP government created this program through NAPEP and have been implementating it for more than 8 years now (small scale, though)'"[[exactly small scale.]]
.

barcanista:
I don't know where you are arguing from and I can't go back and forth. Read my position from beginning...My points have been made. You aren't speaking with facts and figures but assumption and emotions. Unfortunately, things doesn't work that way. Nigeria isn't a productive economy. We aren't a rich country(though we have potentials). We have bad management system. We have terrible capital and social infrastructure. Our revenue always falls short of our annual budgets. Everything is working against us. If we can't fix relevant things, then we should forget it. Even if Senators and FG officials decide to forfeit 100% of their salaries and allowances, embarking on such project would still not be wise. We need to reach a certain level before talking about payment or no payment

Bevista:
First of all, let’s get some records straight. According to the APC campaign manifesto, the proposed CCTP is intended to “…give N5, 000 to the poorest and most vulnerable 25 million over a phased period”.

This has been erroneously interpreted to mean unemployment benefits for the unemployed. That is not entirely true, the proposed program is more similar to the Food Stamp Program in the US which is quite different from Unemployment claims. Secondly, the program is not to be implemented in one fell swoop, but to be phased over 5 years at 5million persons per year, costing about N25billion/month (N300billion/year) .

FREE HANDOOUTS / WASTE OF RESOURCES?
For those who think this program is a waste of public resources, I have a few questions to ask. Why is it acceptable for the country to spend about N150billion for 2500 persons (NA members, their aides and other NA staff) and yet some of us consider it outrageous for the same amount of money to be spent on 2.5million ordinary Nigerians? Why is it ok for the country to spend N1billion to feed 1 family and it is not ok to spend that same amount to feed 5,000 families? Why was it ok for the government (though AMCON) to bail out a few rich banks with over N5.7trillion naira and yet it is not ok to spend N1.5trillion to bail out 25million Nigerians? Our priorities and choices reflect our values. We live in one of the most dehumanizing countries in the world, with immeasurable inequality.

Why is it that when it is time to spend some money that will benefit the poor people directly, that is when we realize that we need money for infrastructure and other things, and yet we find it very convenient to allow politicians in cahoots with the CABAL to plunder the treasury (legally and illegally) with reckless abandon. I have heard we will soon be approving N9billion for 469 persons to improve their wardrobe, while millions wallow in poverty – what a joke!

THE US FOOD STAMP TEMPLATE
The US implements the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) known as the Food Stamp Program. This program provides food-purchasing assistance for low and no-income people living in the US. According to Wikipedia, SNAP benefits cost the US govt $74.1billion in fiscal year 2014 and supplied roughly 46.5million Americans with an average of $125.35 for each person per month in food assistance. (This program is completely different from the Unemployment Claims that is also implemented monthly).

Similar programs have been implemented across developed and developing economies with a good measure of success.

ECONOMIC RESEARCH
Still using SNAP as our benchmark, economic research has shown that every $1 that is spent from SNAP results in about $2 - $3 of economic activity. Infact, according to the US Congressional Budget Office, SNAP benefits is rated one of the two most cost effective of all spending and tax options for boosting growth and jobs in a weak economy. Also, the Food Research and Action Centre claims that “putting more resources quickly into the hands of the people most likely to turn around and spend it can both boost the economy and cushion the hardships on vulnerable people who face a constant struggle against hunger”.

Most economists will find the above explanation a lot more intuitive. The way the transmission mechanism for the program works is that – the total spending by the beneficiaries will lead to increased aggregate demand; firms will invest more to increase their productive capacity to meet this increased demand; this usually leads to an uptick in employment.

When huge amounts of money is spent on a few rich folks, what you get is that most of the money is stashed up in cash in home vaults, fixed in bank deposits, spent on buying properties or/and stocks, etc. Very little proportion of the money goes into spending on real commodities that can stimulate the economy.

ALTERNATIVES
People have suggested that it would be wiser to rather invest the money in infrastructure or/and give the money as loans to SMEs. The thinking is that this will lead to improved infrastructure and more job creation.

My view is that, usually, governments don’t implement these social programs in isolation. It is not meant to replace investments and other developmental programs but to complement it and serve as a stop-gap measure to support the vulnerable in difficult times. Why does the US government not choose to invest the SNAP money in infrastructure instead? Infact, why do they even borrow to implement this program? We are talking about $75billion which is 3x our total annual budget being spent on this program alone.

CHALLENGES
There are obvious challenges that may hamper the successful implementation of this program. First of all, there is no proper database to identify the target beneficiaries. There is also the risk of politics, nepotism, corruption, blackmail and sentiments affecting the process of selecting beneficiaries and implementation of the program.

CONCLUSION
The purpose of this writeup is to show that there is empirical economic research and evidence to support the implementation of such programs and that Nigeria can afford N300billion (N25b x 12) per year to support her most vulnerable citizens.

This program is not entirely an APC program. The National Poverty Alleviation Programme (NAPEP) has been using this interventionist program for more than 8 years now, albeit reaching only a few households. The APC simply wants to widen the nozzle of the hose to make it reach more households. (just google NAPEP CCT program - codenamed COPE) http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/06/napep-disburses-n380m-on-cope-scheme/

However, as we do not have the culture of accountability & probity, I will be reluctant to recommend this program at this time. Not because I see anything fundamentally wrong with the economics and mechanics of the program, but rather because I am not confident we have the institutions to implement it successfully. Remember, in the past we have had beautiful programs like Fuel Subsidy, Fertilizer Subsidy, MAMSER, MDGs, Sure-P, Amnesty program, etc. All these programs have failed, not because there is anything inherently wrong with them, but simply because of the Nigerian factor.