₦airaland Forum

S.Africa minister cuts growth, says economy at ‘turning point’

on october 22, 2014 at 1:38 pm
South Africa’s economy is at a “turning point” and the government must cap spending and raise taxes to tackle its soaring deficit in the face of stalling growth, the finance minister said Wednesday.
The newly appointed Nhlanhla Nene also hinted at the possible privatisation of some state assets — a move the government has resisted for years.  
Presenting his first mid-term budget policy statement to parliament, Nene slashed this year’s growth forecast to 1.4 percent, from the 2.7 percent estimated in the February budget.
Nene blamed the slide partly on the global environment, but admitted that it also reflected domestic energy shortages, strikes and “administrative shortcomings”.
“The budget deficit is high, debt levels have approached the limits of sustainability,” he told reporters ahead of his parliamentary statement. 
Economic growth is expected to rise to three percent in 2017, but that is still well below its potential and means the government is unable to raise as much tax as it expects — and needs — to tackle ailing public finances, he said.
It also falls far short of the growth need to tackle unemployment, which is running at more than 25 percent, and the consequent social unrest.
As a result of slow growth, tax revenue was below projections while government debt continued to rise, standing at 4.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Nene said.
“We have reached a turning point. Fiscal consolidation can no longer be postponed,” he said, in a nod to the ratings agencies.
Standard and Poor’s lowered South Africa’s sovereign rating to one level above junk status in June, heaping pressure on the government to better balance its books.
The country narrowly escaped a recession in the first half of the year.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/s-africa-minister-cuts-growth-says-economy-turning-point/


And to think that nigeria is growing at 7 percent yet some ignoramus would want us to believe that nigeria economy has collapsed even that illitrate.

Mynd44:
South Africa has a population of 52.98 million (2013) we have a population of about 150 million and yet you think it is okay to compare Nigeria to them....

I will rather we compare Nigeria to Brazil or Indonesia. That will be more appropriate instead of this chest beating

but weve always had higher population than south africa yet they had been dusting us in all this indices the op posted. In your rush to discredit the government of the day u actually made reasonably nigerians see that they are doing something different from the past admintrators that has ruled us.

barcanista:
nonsense, I have answered you. But it is clear that you have the mindset for another answer.

you just proved to nairaland how foolish and dull buhari is he cancelled a rail project because of loan.yet his cancellation cost the nigerian people huge sum of money to compensate those that won the contract

Notice this 2 names on that list badamosi babangida (ibb)and sani abacha those were the people the so called mr saint was working with then.. the names you see on that list are those that instutionalized corruption in nigeria. Buhari laid the foundation.ibb and abacha completed it. Buhari even helped abacha launder money through ptf and insulted nigerians by telling us that abacha never stole.i would like to ask buhari if the monies countries are returning back to nigeria stolen by abacha where not stolen

brownlord:
The greatest undoing of Buhari was telling Nigeria's he took loan to purchase the apc nomination form, this might cost him the presidency if there was any hope of him getting there.

Waiting for the APC propaganda team to come analyze this report

have you ever seen them analyze anything on this forum they would come here with their usual name calling and discarding this report without any meaninful fact just to derail this thread .thats their modus oprandi

smada13:
May God run your Life the way GEJ is running this country,May God give you and your family the kind of peace GEJ gives to this country,May God subsidize your blessings the way Jonathan subsidized the Nigerian Oil,May God secure you and your entire family the way GEJ secures this country,may your heart be filled with d type of confusion and chaos GEJ gave Nigeria, May your family be united just as GEJ united Nigeria,


As a good supporter of GEJ all you have to do is to type"Amen" and disgrace the ‘Misinformed’ General
public that he is God Sent.

Be brave to type Amen before you start the insult

may you and buharis supporters life be ran the way buhari ran borno state when he was the administrator of that state in 1976..

smada13:
May God run your Life the way GEJ is running this country,May God give you and your family the kind of peace GEJ gives to this country,May God subsidize your blessings the way Jonathan subsidized the Nigerian Oil,May God secure you and your entire family the way GEJ secures this country,may your heart be filled with d type of confusion and chaos GEJ gave Nigeria, May your family be united just as GEJ united Nigeria,


As a good supporter of GEJ all you have to do is to type"Amen" and disgrace the ‘Misinformed’ General
public that he is God Sent.

Be brave to type Amen before you start the insult

amen and amen to that and may your life and that of your family be ran the way buhari and his band of co travellers abacha and ibb ran this country . And if u and your family has every benefited from anything gej has. Transformed since coming into office may you and your family not see 2015 .. i hope u can be man enuff to say amen too

oduastates:
Only fools will believe what these idiots are saying .
How much was spent on kitchen then?

u wont belief it but if it was gej that is all about u would believe. u remember how u and your fellow slowpoke believed gejs feeding allowance . its about fayemi now its a lie ,we are idiots and we believe it. Ekiti will expose how corrupt tinubu and his band of progressive land grabbing thieves has looted the south west

egift:
The work done already is being executed by the Anambra State it is not Jonathan.

u see why i say u guys are hypocrites first you draw my attention to onitsha-akwa road when i asked you to swear if work is not ongoing on that road u turn around to say it amambra governor that is working on it .that road is been worked on by gej and that is why u see sure p as the owner of the project on the project board and that road is been handled by niger cat on behalf of sure p and federal government .very soon you would also come here to tell us that the lagos-ibadan express way which is another road the federal government is building with sure p fund is not fg but fashola

Ngwakwe:
What stupid question is this?


You wrote nonsense which I intent turning to intellectual discourse.

Provide all supporting facts and briefings when next you try to murder Nigerian Education systems.

With what GEJ received, he has scored more than expected.

the only fact they believe is the one that comes out of lai mohammed and their un intellegent write up. When am done with work i definitely what us to discuss this so that we would keep exposing. These unintelligent worthless paid internet trolls. They dont want intellectual discuss with facts .like the simple question of what tbeir own state governments did with their own sure p fund unless they want to tell us that their governors didnt benefit from subsidy removal. Which would show the motive and how hypocritical this disjointed write up is

egift:
karlmax2, have you seen Akwa - Onitsha Road? If you use that road, you will drag Jonathan to the Market Square and give him the beating of his life

yes i have can you swear with your life that the road has not improved or is work not ongoing ? Ive been asking you and your fellows,what has your governors done with the money they collect from sure-p up till now is just blabbing and more lies to coat your other lies.well u lot can keep deceiving yourselve online while people who can see the difference between the fg now and the fg's. Of the past .no blackmail or lies can stop him come 2015 because his work would speak for him .i would advise. You amd tour people to polish your voters card and get ready for election.

Olaolufred:
[size=18pt]Mumu dey smell.
Will nigerians drive on website road?
Or use only website Hospital?
Or use Website Buses?
Or Use website electricity?
If so, where are these website products?[/size]

the roads exit on the internet for you and you likes because u people are always on the internet trolling any reasonable person who has been traveling nigeria by road know what talking about.

barcanista:
Nonsense. you keep bringing the same self-appraisal with NOTHING to show on ground. The Government made Promises which you are mubbling and trying to use mago-mago to escape. Nonsense again

thats the problem with hypocrites like u who stay in the one room apartment without travelling round their country i wont agrue with you cos i am busy now But if u ve travelled from lagos to benin you would see what sure p has done on benin ore road. I would be a fool to argue with a brainwashed Monkey like you cause just like the almajaris been brainwashed that is how you guys that support apc are. How would you see whats on ground when you busy 24/7 on line in your cubicle looking for propoganda to use against gej leave your mesirable houes and move about and stop feeding on what lies mohammed and your paymaster tell you

I repeat my question to you what has your state governor done with the sure p funds he has been collecting on your behalf and stop beating around the bush

Yeske2:
I only hope you won't drown in your lies one day.

this the problem i have with all this paid apc propogandist when your face with hard facts you call thems lies.pls since are lies can you tell us what is fact. Cos i know that to you and your likes fact is any cock and bull story that paints this government in bad light or this disjointed write up that was put together by a simpleton who doesnt even know that his state governor collects share from the same sure-p his trying to rubbish on his be half .or dont even know sure-p has a well organised working website that shows what they are doing.which those he elected. Dont even tell him what they are doing with what they have been collecting since 2011 his busy chasing shadows.can you now tell us what is the truth if what sincere nigeria wrote are lies tell us what is fact .

Ignoramus why dont you visit sure p link to know what the monies has been used for now i can comfirm that you really ignorant. Between your apc state governors also collect their own share of the sure p money why not highlight that on your post and equally ask them what they have done with theirs. it is only your fellow ignoramus you can decieve and they are in the minority. Nigerians are wiser now. below are the amounts that was shared between fg, state, and local goverment for the past 3 months for those who are not blinded by the hypocrisy like the dump op who dont know how government works but put all his miserable life problem on the fg alone while those he elected to represent him are free to have a filled day with the money the same fg he is payed to rubbish give to them to meet his miserable needs.

Subsidy savings: FG, states, LGs share N248.85bn

http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/subsidy-savings-fg-states-lgs-share-n248-85bn/

SURE-P: FG, states, get N959.8bn in 27 months

http://www.punchng.com/business/sure-p-fg-states-get-n959-8bn-in-27-months/

Sure p has a working website since u appear to be ignorant of what sure p is doing at federal level here is their website u can go there and read for yourself what they are doing instead of showing how un intelligent you are

http://sure-p.gov.ng/main/

I ask you and your fellow oxymoron what has your state and local government done with their own share or do you want to keep lying to yourself that state governors dont share from sure p?

cowleg:
All Progressives Congress - APC
How Long Will Reno Omokri's Presidential Poll
Last?
By Egift - From Nairaland
General opinion polls the world over last within
few hours to ask questions and collect
responses. In Nigeria, elections hold between
8am to 4pm (about 8hrs of voting exercise).
Sahara Reporters setup an online opinion poll
which lasted slightly above 24hrs. Reno Omokri
(President Jonathan's social media propaganda
agent) was not happy that Buhari defeated
Jonathan in the SR poll. So he setup his own -
yet again Buhari consistently defeated Jonathan
throughout the standard time any opinion poll
can last.
It is 3 Days now Buhari is still leading. The
question is now is How Long Will Reno Omokri's
Presidential Poll Last? - Or is he holding on till
when TAN members complete manipulating the
figures.
Nigerians want Change. Everyone is saying no to
a Stealing Not Corruption administration of
Goodluck Jonathan.
Enough is enough!
37 mins · Public
Unlike Page · Report

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=359042717606629&id=125341937643376&refid=28&_ft_=qid.6071893587078064734%3Amf_story_key.-3425364344704970880&__tn__=%2As

apc has not taken over they want to disenfranchise nigerians this poll would last till febuary in your wasp mind you think its all polls that last just 24 hours .between thanks to you and your paid internet simpletons for informing well meaning nigerians about the poll the new is spreading. ont cry yet

maslong:
very useless post

its no longer favouring. Them they are now screaming rigging that is how they would kill innocent youth corpers in 2015 .anyway thanks to you and your paid apc internet worriors for letting well meaning nigerians who are of the majority know about this poll.dont scream rigging yet wait till the poll closes in February

doja:
They have started manipulating the online poll to favour Jonathan there is about 50 votes per minutes in favour of Jonathan on the poll as I type this.

because is no longer favouring u and your internet rats. Thanks to you guys who are paid by apc to be on line 24/7 for helping in the promotion of the polls. Now alot of gej supporters and those that experienced buharis disastrous rule and his band of supreme military council. That included characters like ibb and abacha ,the three of them hand in hand institutionalized corruption those people are now aware of the poll and are voting Gej enmass dont cry yet wait till the polls close in febuary 2014 so that u lots would know that those that are for Gej that are not fooled by the propoganda you lots are paid to spread everyday online are in the majority

PhockPhockMan:
Thank you.




Meanwhile, Anyim Pius Anyim, addressing the crowd.

pls just leave them to their foolery.

PhockPhockMan:
See them, jobless e-rats.

please dont let them derail your lovely thread

brownlord:
Nonsense,I guess this project will be abandon as soon as the man gets voted in the second time, I saw this with oshiomole already. Nigeria politicians be deceiving us since 1914

troll alert!! Pls ignore so that we dont derail this beautiful thread

ahaika23:
I notice the number of likes on the positive posts on this thread. It's not that Nigerians are ignorant of events that some people spend so much time advertising propaganda hoping that the lie they sell will be bought by us but what they fail to understand is that the truth will always prevail. GEJ is making feats that are verifiable true and affecting positively our lives. It only takes a mad person or one who has sold his conscience to hate to see all these things and still fabricate lies to satisfy their evil molded boxes called hearts. I wish all of you that see nothing good in your President Goodluck in all your endeavors, amen. Let the haters keep hating and the truthful remain true until judgment comes to all.

bro dont worry yourself wey shall meet them on election day.

•Post on January 17, 2007, 01:48:20 PM


Soyinka Queries His Adoption By Opposition

President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday dismissed the Presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Muhammadu Buhari, as a man of military mentality who thinks he could restructure the country in a democratic dispensation.



 
Obasanjo scolded him at the opening of the Third Business Roundtable in Abuja, organised by The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, threw his hat into the ring in Lagos, where he too dissociated himself from the clamour by opposition parties for the return of Buhari as a civilian President.

He warned that his candidature would not be useful in forging a credible opposition against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that his history personifies a graver, looming danger to democracy.

He labelled him as a dictator who has shown no regard for democratic norms.

Soyinka insisted that Buhari’s candidature, which he had dismissed as a rash illusion triggered by other political improbabilities, is being given an air of plausibility by individuals and groups to which he had earlier attributed a sense of relevance.

He removed the African Renaissance Party (with which he identifies) from the endorsement of Buhari by those in Tunji Braithwaite’s Coalition For A New Nigeria, and noted that the grounds on which Buhari is being promoted as the alternative are shaky and naÔve.

Said Soyinka: "Buhari – need one remind anyone – was one of the Generals who treated a commission of enquiry, the Oputa Panel, with unconcealed disdain. Like Babangida and Abdulsalami, he refused to put in appearance even though complaints that were tabled against him involved a career of gross abuses of power and blatant assault on the fundamental human rights of the Nigerian citizenry."

He accused Buhari of abuse of power alongside his Chief of Staff, the late Tunde Idiagbon.

This abuse of power, in Soyinka’s chronicle, included Decree No. 4 of 1984 – under which two journalists, Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson, were jailed – and a retroactive Decree 20 of 1984 by which three young men were executed by firing squad for drug trafficking.

Soyinka also said he is not surprised at the census figures and recalled how he had gone round to consult with experts in demography outside Nigeria.

"I was a week in Ghana, in the conference which put me against many, many experts in this field, who also wanted to discuss the phenomenon called the Nigerian census. And the consensus, no pun intended, is that there is something very, very wrong about these figures."

Back at the roundtable in Abuja, Obasanjo, apparently reacting to the jab Buhari threw at his government last week, sneered: "He says he will continue with the reforms (in terms of the) restructuring of Nigeria. Because of the Constitution, no person can create a local government. He is still thinking in the military era (whereas) the Constitution does not empower him to create a local government.

"We have about 12 bills before the National Assembly, which include the Fiscal Responsibility Bill, the Procurement Bill, Tax Reforms Bills, and the Central Bank of Nigeria Act. I have no power over the National Assembly. I can only appeal to them, which we have been doing."

Buhari had said, in an interview last week, that Obasanjo’s economic reform is a disaster.

"Everybody is screaming," he reiterated. "I have said it so often that, since 1914, when the North and the South were amalgamated and became one Nigeria, and we have remained so, Nigeria has not realised the revenue we have had in the last 10 years.

"Go back and check in relative terms: The number of companies closed, loss of jobs, unemployment, insecurity and decay in infrastructure. And you can’t even reconcile the revenue Nigeria has realised with the economic disaster that has shown itself in terms of lack of employment, no power, and insecurity.

"I think the government has not performed, and that calls on Nigerians to think seriously on an alternative to this government."

Reacting to a question raised by a participant at the roundtable on the need to legalise the reforms – and for political parties to agree to continue with them – Obasanjo said it is unconstitutional for anyone to say he would restructure the country.

Obasanjo asserted that there is no basis for the PDP to meet with other parties to ensure the continuation of the economic programmes.

"For parties to come together on the reforms sounds like ganging up. On what basis should the parties meet? They have different ideologies and agenda."

Uncharacteristically, he called for a debate among the Presidential candidates in order to scrutinise their programmes and thinking.

On a statement credited to another Presidential candidate that he (the candidate) would "reform the current reforms," Obasanjo said it is the worst statement he has ever heard. Incidentally one of the candidates who made the statement was Obasanjo’s aide. Another was Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The President insisted that proponents of the split up of Nigeria have been proved wrong because of the population results.

"The census results have been announced and accepted by the government as required by the Constitution. They have been forwarded to the National Assembly. What remains is the publication of the census in official gazette, which we will carry out next week."

Obasanjo emphasised that the reforms have yielded the desirable results, including the granting of debt relief by the Paris Club and the fight against corruption through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

"We are now in a situation where the reforms are no longer an individual or head of government’s reforms. Our reforms have been embraced by my party, the PDP. It is now my party’s agenda.

"This leads us to the fact that we can now draw up targets and policies, from where the government can draw up programmes. Our overall target is to be among the top 20 largest economies by 2020."

Most of the independent power projects would come on stream before the end of this year, he added, and gave an assurance that the government is on course to generate 10,000 mega watts (mw) of electricity by December and 15,000 mw by 2010.

Supporting that optimistic view, the acting Managing Director of the United Bank for Africa, Chika Mordi, recounted at the roundtable that the last seven and half years have been positive for Nigeria in terms of development.

He expressed confidence that the country would witness a sustained reform and a smooth transition, as "we have seen clear changes in terms of infrastructure, telecommunications, and financial management. How we harness entrepreneurship is the key to success in Nigeria."

The President of Coca Cola (Nigeria and Equatorial Africa), Lawrence Drake, said there is no reason why Nigeria cannot be a robust economy in Africa, if Angola could achieve it.

"Angola has significantly grown its economy and Gross Domestic Product in the last seven years. Nigeria has to do the same and grow her economy. Our hope is that this will happen," he stated.

http://kanoonline.com/smf/index.php?action=printpage;topic=2797.0

shizzle11:
Just dont bother yourself quoting that hag, she's a useless troll

those were my last words HIM.

Obiagelli:
How does that stop you from read and waiting in anticipation for my posts you have created 380 topics on nairaland and i have just 60, yeye dey smell.

Btw i did my hustle early in life, God bless your.

i open threads for trolls like you to feast on in your deception and your urge to hide the truth which you and your fellow trolls are known for you failed to also tell nairalanders that i was registered on nairaland feb 2011almost 4years now and i have 1880 posts now compare that to a low life paid internet she male troll that registered just less than 2 years and has made a whopping 3807 posts this shows that you have nothing doing apart from jumping from thread to thread looking for who to troll and deceive. Pls stop derailing this thread ! You can search for and start a thread on how buhari built and developed the rail sector during his reign as a dictator with absolute power you and your fellow simpletons can go and feast there.

Adetula1:
don't know how to open a tread,would have been updating the forum with enough pix to show daily progress of work both for Abuja mass rail and Abuja kaduna rail line.have added some pix to show some unbelievers

bros Endeavour to try and post update of the true state of progress in the rail sector so that alot of ignorant nigerians and nairalanders that has been brain washed by the propogandist that are part of the people that Distroyed this sector so that their brothers in the trucking business could have field day.

SLIDEwaxie:
don't mind that fool...

your father and entire generations are fools wasted sperm.u and your jobless troll are stupidly personified

Obiagelli:
And you are here 24/7 reading posts. Lol

if indeed ur a woman u have no life cos ur always on this forum trolling every thread on political section. Check the last time i made a comment on naira land till today but u u eat,sleep,and drink nairaland as a very dull troll

From tunde thompson the man that was arrested by the tyrant

In his interview by Eric Osagie and Paulinus Aidoghie published in the Saturday Sun as a cover story on December 22, the former Head of State now chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, made some comments on Decree No. 4 of 1984 on which one can neither be indifferent nor silent. Although the earlier focus had been on the three drug pedlars executed by the government, the little that the general said about the decree conveyed a totally different impression about  the law, which warrants a response in the interest of historical accuracy and the truth.

After seemingly rejecting the idea that the decree was used by his government to gag the Press, Buhari suggested that the Press brought the “Nigerian factor” into the decree. In his own words: “….when people try to get job or contract and they couldn’t get it, they make a quick research and created a problem for people who refuse to do them the favour. What we did was that you must not embarrass those civil servants. If you have got evidence that somebody was corrupt, the courts were there.

Take the evidence to court, the court will not spare whoever it was. But you don’t just go and write articles that were embarrassing. Those who did it, the editors, the reporters, we jailed them….” Considering the fact that the decree was tested only once and involved only The Guardian newspaper and two of its editorial staff (Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson), what the general said in that interview amounted to fresh allegations, presented at the bar of public opinion this time around, and not what was tabled before the Decree 4 Tribunal chaired by Justice J.O. Ayinde.

One needs more illumination from the general on who it was that tried to get a job or contract from civil servants and was turned down, and later resorted to engaging in “a quick research” so as to create problems for them. The decree was applied only once, as earlier indicated, so how could Gen.

Buhari develop the idea that the accused newspaper  and its editorial representatives set out to create  problems  for some unknown and unspecified civil servants then? Obviously, the General is not the same young and swashbuckling officer he used to be and therefore may well have forgotten details of the trial under Decree No. 4 of 1984, which led to financial sanctions against The Guardian and incarceration after some months of detention for its two workers.

That his memory might have failed him during the interview, however, does not mean the readers and future researchers should be given the impression that The Guardian and its men who worked independently on some diplomatic affairs reports, ever sought any favour from any civil servant,   or tried to embarrass any of them in the way discussed during that interview. That is pure fiction, simple. Furthermore, there are some procedural and professional matters to which the General (“once a general, always a general,” not so?) did not direct his thoughts  during the interview.

If, in the course of his or her work, a journalist (reporter or correspondent),  comes about some information suggesting that a civil servant or any public officer had been “corrupt”, was it being suggested that the evidence should be taken to a court of law by the medium of mass communication concerned? Does the general still think the duty of the Press is to gather evidence for delivery to the law courts rather than publishing in the media (print or electronic)?

And how are we so sure, even if the suggestion of taking “the evidence to court” were to be considered, that “the court will not spare whoever it was” (that had been allegedly corrupt)? We live in an environment in which some well-connected public officers have, within the last decade, obtained ridiculous injunctions against prosecution for corrupt practices, even with all the weight of evidence marshaled by law-enforcement agencies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

We have thus all been told that such persons were and perhaps remain till today “untouchable”, as far as prosecution in any of our “temples of justice” is concerned.  Suddenly, we have been left in a situation where the law has become a “respecter of persons”, to such an extent that even probes conducted in legislative chambers have not been followed up with any appreciable results, either there or in the courts of law. There were even reports that a prominent politician had the rare distinction of having his matter bordering on corruption ruled as being beyond the competence of any court in the country.

It is just a pity that Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s warning: “No condition is permanent”, is too easily forgotten by such people. It does appear that it is not politically expedient to subject some people to legal scrutiny, even if they went out of their ways to compete with the Central Bank in terms of the monies stashed away in private vaults. All one has been saying is that, contrary to what the general said, journalists are constitutionally empowered to investigate matters of national or public interest, and can go to town with their stories once the issues of libel, truth and fairness had been taken into account in writing and publishing them.

A precedent is the Joseph Tarka/Godwin Daboh and Daily Times corruption allegation between 1973 and 1974;it  is one example we should not forget here. When sure of its facts, the medium concerned should publish and the exposed officials or individuals can then go to court, not the other way round. In other words, those tried under Decree 4 in 1984 neither accused any public official of corruption nor attempted to embarrass government and any such thoughts are simply a latter-day rationalization of a regime’s peculiar political power management strategy. Put briefly, before assuming power after the December 31, 1983, coup d’etat, the media had reported that a N2.8billion oil money was missing and as Minister, Gen. Buhari could not have taken kindly to those reports. Secondly, the General may not have forgotten yet that Dele Giwa of Newswatch newsmagazine, once asked him what he thought about press freedom.

The answer he gave (not denied till today), was this: “Press Freedom? What’s that? I’ll step on it!”Decree No.4 was the first attempt to step on the Press and public opinion by the regime, but it back-fired. Thirdly, Decree No. 4 was not yet promulgated by the time this writer was detained under Decree No. 2, and it took almost two weeks before a world press conference on its promulgation was held. So, why lock up anybody when there was no law yet on the matter?Fourthly, the security organization had wanted to know who gave the information on the diplomatic stories published, as already detailed elsewhere.

They were not obliged with such information, which would have been done against the ethics of Journalism. These are some of the abiding and unforgettable evils of Decree No. 4 of 1984, which nobody can ignore or wish away. Repentance and attitudinal changes are now overdue, not justification of undemocratic actions at this time.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=14395

PTF Fraud: How N25 Billion was stolen under Buhari’s watch
The Petroleum Trust Fund was inaugurated by the Abacha administration in March 1995 and General Muhammadu Buhari was appointed to head the Fund which was formed sequel to the increase in the pump price of petrol to N 11 from N 3.25. The then Head of State, Gen Abacha had said then that the Fund was to distribute the gain from the increased price on social and infrastructural projects.

The Fund started work with an initial capital of about N60b in 1996 with a mandate that included the rehabilitation of roads and waterways, educational and health institutions, providing textbooks and stationery, procuring essential drugs and vaccines, providing water supply systems, reviving crumbling agricultural sectors, connecting outlying areas to the national electricity grid, extending railways and telecommunications and ensuring consistent food supply.

Buhari often referred to as Mai Gaskiya (the honest one) was apparently considered for the job mainly because of the qualities he possessed, with the Abacha led government feeling that would douse the tension generated by the increase in fuel prices. With time however, allegations started flying that the PTF was no more than another avenue for the Abacha administration to siphon funds.

On assumption of office in 1999, Chief Obasanjo disbanded the PTF. One of the discoveries made by the administration was that between its inception and July, 1999, the funds that accrued to the PTF stood at N 181 billion. It was also found out that the Consultants appointed by the Executive Chairman of the Trust Fund, Gen Buhari constantly fleeced the country of funds running into billions.

In 2000, the Obasanjo administration set up an Interim Management Committee to take a look into the affairs of the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund and ascertain among other things, how much has been spent by the PTF so far and what is on ground to justify the huge expenditure. The Committee the set to work and accomplished all the terms of reference by March 2000. The Interim Management Committee submitted that:

Term of Reference No 1:
The Interim Management Committee has already ascertained the total income that has accrued to PTF from its inception to date. The total amount that has accrued to PTF is N 181, 795, 000, 000 (One hundred and eighty one billion, seven hundred and ninety five million Naira). The report for the ascertainment of accrued income has been completed.

Term of Reference No 2
Independent Consultants were commissioned by the Interim Management Committee to ascertain the state of all the bank accounts operated by the Petroleum Special Trust Fund from its inception up to September, 1999.

All the assignments have been completed and all the reports submitted. An Executive Summary was prepared and a total of N 3, 642, 982, 280 (Three billion, six hundred and forty two million, nine hundred and eighty two thousand, two hundred and eighty Naira) was found to be recoverable from various banks, due to excess charges, under payment of interest on fixed term deposits and non-payment of interest on current account balances, as stipulated by Central Bank of Nigeria guidelines.

Terms of Reference No 3
The Petroleum Special Trust Fund intervened in, prepared and packaged, ready for transfer to the appropriate line ministry

(b) Food Supply Sector All the necessary verification work have been concluded for projects and programmes and reports already supplied by independent consultants. The programme is already in the process of being transferred to the appropriate ministry, as per the approval given by Mr President.

(c) Education Sector  i) Educational Materials Procurement Programme: The verification of the entire programme has already been done and the process of handing over the whole programme to the appropriate beneficiaries has reached an advance stage as directed by Mr President ii) Rehabilitation of Educational Institutions: The services of various consultants have been used to carry out the technical audit of all the projects throughout the country and a comprehensive up to date report has already been completed by the co-ordinating consultants. The preparation of an Executive Summary has reached an advanced stage.

(d) Health Sector: (i) Drug Revolving Fund: The drug revolving fund programme has been thoroughly verified and all available stocks have been transferred to the various state governments. As per the directive of Mr President (ii) Rehabilitation of Health Institutions: The programme for the rehabilitation of Health Institutions throughout the country has been verified and a comprehensive up to date status report prepared. And Executive Summary for the attention of Mr President is being prepared.

(e) Water Supply Sector: All projects and programmes under this sector have been thoroughly verified in compliance with the terms of reference No 3. A comprehensive and up to date report has already been completed.

(f) Other Project Sector: The projects under the sector which were commenced have already been completed. The rest of the projects are yet to commence. The report stating the above mentioned up to date status of all projects under this sector has already been completed.

Terms Of Reference No 4

(i)  The audited account of the fund as at 30th June, 1999 stating the Assets and Liabilities of the Petroleum Special Trust Fund has already been prepared by the KPMG Audit, a firm of Chartered Accountants. (ii) The Audited Accounts of the fund as at 31st December, 1999 stating the Assets and Liabilities of the fund has already been prepared by Pricewaterhouse Coopers Audit, a firm of Chartered Accountants. (iii) The Audited Accounts of the Fund for the month commencing January, 2000 to June 30th 2000 is to commence when the IMC was replaced. This would have given the asset and liabilities of the Fund at the end of the terms of the former IMC.
Terms Of Reference No 5

The present administrative structure was carefully examined and the best option is to transfer each departmental staff operating a project sector to the appropriate ministry where the projects are transferred. This will reduce hardship on the staff and also will enhance the capacity of the ministry concerned for it to cope with the additional responsibility.

Terms of Reference No 6 and 7
The former IMC has undertaken a thorough technical audit of all projects and programmes using well experienced independent consultants. In the process of the technical audit, the sanctity of all contracts agreement was upheld and all costs were evaluated to a realistic level. The value of work done up to date has been ascertained and the estimated cost of completion has also been calculated. The appropriate ministry that will be responsible for the completion of any project may further negotiate the time and cost of completion of any project.

As it has been enumerated above, all the terms of reference given to the former IMC has already been virtually completed. The handing over of projects to respective ministries has already commenced. The former IMC would have completed the winding down of the activities of the Petroleum Special Trust Fund as directed by Mr President by the end of June, 2000.

The total public funds to be recovered from various contractors, banks and consultants amounted to about Twenty five billion, seven hundred and fifty eight million five hundred and thirty two thousand four hundred and forty eight Naira.

Below is the Executive Summary of various reports of the independent consultants on verification exercise which resulted in the funds recoveries.

Members of The Interim Management Committee Are As Follows:
Dr. Haroun Adamu (Chairman), Alhaji Abdu Abdurrahim, Barrister Achana Gaius Yaro, Arc Edward Eguavoen, Mr. T. Andrew Adegboro, Engr Baba Goni Machina

Report On The Amount To Be Recovered From Some PTF Projects And Programmes
The Interim Management Committee was appointed by Mr President. One of the terms of reference of their appointment is to carry out verification exercise on all projects and programmes prior to packaging the projects and programmes for subsequent transfer to the appropriate line ministries. The recoverable exercises of the under-listed projects were completed and the various reports and the IMC recommendations forwarded to President Obasanjo for further directives.

The Listed Projects Are –
(i) Afriproject Consortium (APC) PTF Management Consultants and also Project Consultants (ii) PTF intervention in the HIV/AIDS Programme (iii) PTF Health Sector Intervention inputs (iv) PTF Prevalent cases of expiring drugs all over the country (v) PTF residential estate development on Plot 780 Cadastral Zone  A8, Abuja FCT (vi) PTF Head Office extension contract at Airport Road, Abuja (vii) PTF-Bank accounts operated from inception to 31st December 1999.

AFPRI- Project Consortium (APC) Afri-Project Consortium were contracted by PTF as Management Consultants and Project Consultants. The former Chairman of PTF also delegated to them the power of Engineer in all appropriate project requiring such power. Afriproject Consortium then assumed an absolute power of initiation, approval and execution of all projects.

Three reputable management consulting firms were engaged to verify all payments made to (APC) from the inception of PTF up to 30th September, 1999. On verification it was found that they have over charged PTF for their services to the tune of N 2, 057, 550, 062 (Two billion fifty seven million five hundred and fifty thousand and sixty two Naira only).

(ii) PTF Assisted HIV/ AIDS Programmes : The intervention of PTF in the HIV/AIDS was flawed due to professional negligence by the management consultants. There was an excessive order of HIV/AIDS kits which resulted in most of the kits expiring before use. Also there was gross inflation of the purchase price. The two factors combined resulted in a loss of N 579,000,000 (Five hundred and seventy nine million Naira only).

(iii) PTF Intervention Programmes : PTF intervention in the health sector input programmes totalled to about N 9 billion Naira. The projects were executed by the management consultants and PTF in-house staff. In this sector there are three glaring areas of loss: (a) Purchase of specific frames which was done at N 1,900 each while they can be purchased locally at a price between N 80 and N 880. This resulted in total loss of N 45, 270,000 (b) Purchase of ambulances which was done at N 13,000,000 each instead of the price of N 3,000,000 each. This resulted in total loss of N 900,000,000 (Nine hundred million Naira only). (c) Purchase of drugs was done to the tune of N 3.08 billion. Price inflation and expiring of drugs resulted in a loss to PTF of about N 1, 500, 000,000 ( one billion, five hundred million Naira).

(iv) PTF Prevalence Expiring Drugs All Over The Country: A team of Pharmacists were commissioned to verify the Drugs Revolving Fund Programmes. Their findings were very depressing. A huge loss has been incurred by PTF as enumerated below:- (a) Drugs and consumables worth N 817, 831,723 (Eight hundred and seventeen million, eight and thirty one thousand seven hundred and twenty three Naira only) were found to have expired by October, 1999 (b) another quantity of drugs worth N 94, 741, 517 expired in December, 1999 (c) drugs worth N 233, 416, 829 will expire by March 2000 (d) Drugs worth N 461, 255,073 will expire by June 2000 (e) Drugs worth N 429, 117, 861 will expire by September, 2000 (f) Drugs worth N 1, 196, 276, 052 will expire by October- December, 2000.

There were many cases of deterioration of drugs as a result of faulty manufacturing, inappropriate packaging, improper storage and excess stock.

(v) PTF Residential Estate: The involvement of PTF in Residential Estate    Development was out of its intervention sphere. As at now, the estate has been confiscated by government. The contract sum is N 703, 815, 416 (Seven hundred and three million, eight hundred and fifteen thousand four hundred and sixteen Naira only) while after verification, the whole project was valued at N 328, 901, 521 (Three hundred and Twenty Eight Million nine hundred and one thousand, five hundred and twenty one Naira only). There was an inflation of the contract to the tune of N 374, 913, 895 (Three hundred and seventy four million, nine hundred and thirteen thousand eight hundred and ninety five Naira only).

(vi) PTF Headquarters Extension: The IMC Commissioned Consultants to determine the current construction cost of the on-going extension at the headquarters office. The current construction cost determined by the Consultant came to N 326, 207, 861 (Three hundred and twenty six million, two hundred and seven thousand, eight hundred and sixty one Naira only) as against a contract sum of N 461, 216, 759 (Four hundred and sixty one million, two hundred and sixteen thousand, seven hundred and fifty nine Naira only) this resulted in contract sum inflation of N 135, 008, 879 (One hundred and thirty five million, eight thousand eight hundred and seventy nine Naira only).

(vii) Bank Accounts Operated By PTF From Inception To December 31, 1999: Various Consultants were commissioned to verify the Bank accounts operated by PTF from inception of the Fund up to 31st December, 1999. The Fund operated its bank accounts under three different categories viz- (a) Administration Account (b) Project Account (c) Treasury Account. Recoveries to be made from the various banks are as follow:

(a)    Administration Account Total Amount recoverable is N 664, 415, 793 (Six hundred and sixty four million, four hundred and fifteen thousand seven hundred and ninety three Naira only). This is mainly due to overcharge on Cost of Turnover (COT), non-payment of interest on current account balances as stipulated by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other various discrepancies.

(b)   Project Account On project Account, total amount recoverable is N 2, 467, 817, 167 (Two billion, four hundred and sixty seven million, eight hundred and seventeen thousand, one hundred and sixty seven Naira only). This is made up mainly from overcharge of Cost of Turnover (COT), non-payment of interest on Current Account balances as stipulated by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other various discrepancies.

(c)    Treasury Account All the Treasury Accounts were verified and amount to be recovered is N 510, 749, 323 (Five hundred and ten million, seven hundred and forty nine thousand, three hundred and twenty three Naira only). This is mainly due to short-payment of interest on deposited funds. (See Box A).

The total sum of N 11, 658, 532, 448 (Eleven billion, six hundred and fifty eight million, five hundred and thirty two thousand four hundred and forty eight Naira only) is recoverable as per various reports completed as at now.

1.Other Potential Areas Of Fund Recovery : Road (Highways and Urban Roads) The PSTF uses about 70% of its income on highways and Urban Road Projects. In this project sector, there was total variation of contract sums of N 68,000,000,000 (Sixty eight billion Naira). These variations were not done with properly priced bills of quantities and approved civil contracts procedure as stipulated by government regulations. Taking the experience of what has been discovered after verification of previous contracts awarded by PSTF, the minimum potential recovery will be about 15%. This estimated percentage will be about N 10, 000, 000 (Ten billion Naira). The verification of this project sector was about to take off when the IMC members were replaced.

2. Rural Water Supply Programme The area of potential fund recoveries under this programme are basically two :-  (i) Mobilisation paid to contractors who by now have not even commenced work (ii) Over pricing of contracts. The amount to be recovered from this project sector can be conservatively estimated at N 1,000,000,000 (One billion Naira).

The detail verification report on this programme has already been completed. The executive summary of this report was in the process of compilation when the IMC members were replaced.

3. National Health and Educational Institutions Rehabilitation Programme The detail verification exercise on this sector has already been completed by various independent Consultants. The executive summary for total amounts recoverable is now in the process of being compiled. The conservative estimate of amount recoverable due to non-performance of contractors and over-pricing of contract is about N 600,000,000 (Six hundred million Naira).

4. National Educational Material Procurement Programme This programme entails the purchase of educational materials such as text books, exercise books, chalk, dusters, pencils, biro, magazines, maps etc. The verification exercise of this programme is yet to commence. The conservative estimate of recoveries to be made due to non-performance by contractors and inflation of prices will be in the region of N 900,000,000 (Nine hundred million Naira).

5. Rural Telecommunication Programme The Rural Telecommunication Programme was supposed to be carried out in two phases viz: – (i) Pilot programme (ii) The main programme. The main programme was to commence after the pilot programme has been completed and certified as operational, but mobilisation of N 1, 600,000 (One billion, six hundred million Naira) was paid to the contractors for the main programme without any contract being signed at all.

In view of the government policy at present, the full amount of the mobilization paid can be recovered (i.e N 1,600,000,000), See Box B

The Committee recommended that the total recoverable amount can be used to offset some of the outstanding debts because some of the creditors are contractors from whom these amounts are to be recovered. It also recommended that the President may wish to set up a high powered judicial panel to recover the huge public fund and to take the necessary action against any officer, consultant or contractor whose negligence resulted in this colossal loss of public funds.

The Interim Management Committee Members who compiled this report include Dr. Haroun Adamu (Chairman), Alh. Abdu Abdurrahim, Barrister Achana Gaius Yaro, Arc. Edward Eguavoen, Mr. T Andrew Adegboro and Engr.

http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/exclusive/ptf-fraud-how-n25-billion-was-stolen-under-buharis-watch/

Was expecting the e rats to come and abuse america just like they abused their president

rozayx5:
how many did the north you azzlick build in 3decades

dont waste your time replying this people that have not left the four walls of there room to know whats happening in nigeria they are on nairaland from morning till night, 7 days a week paid to spread propoganda and misinform his (cos i know the person u replied is a he)follow dullards.