For a government that projects change, the 2016 national budget proposals are in certain respects an outright mess. Its authors exhibited an unpardonable level of slothfulness, while President Muhammadu Buhari, who dutifully presented it, was inattentive. The proposals should be withdrawn and amended to remove the in-built waste, extravagance and fraud smuggled in by bureaucrats.
Buhari’s reputation for honesty, frugality and fiscal responsibility has taken a hit from the self-indulgence embedded in the proposals. How can a government of change justify spending N3.8 billion on the State House Medical Centre, over N1 billion on the purchase of vehicles and N89.17 million on canteen/kitchen equipment at a time of austerity and belt-tightening for the State House?
To be sure, the overall budget has noble intentions and targets. The N1.8 trillion, or about 30 per cent of the N6.08 trillion plan, set aside for capital expenditure, is an improvement on the paltry N557 billion capital vote of 2015 that was not even implemented. Emphasis on Education (N483.66 billion), Health (N257.38 billion), Transportation (N215.79 billion) and Works, Power and Housing (N467.64 billion) reflects some seriousness in dealing with critical sectors, just as the N429.09 billion for defence and N498.45 billion for the Interior ministry reassure Nigerians that national security will receive priority.
We argue that the budget needs reworking based on the unrealistic $38 per barrel oil price benchmark and renewed sabotage of oil infrastructure. But the details in some heads and sub-heads are doubly distressing.
Where is the promised zero budgeting? Buhari, in echoing a promise by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, said this approach “ensures that resources are aligned with government’s priorities and allocated efficiently.” Details of the 2016 budget published on the website of the Budget Office of the Federation provide evidence that Aliyu Yahaya-Gusau, its Director-General, and his team have continued in the lazy, incompetent ways of their predecessors. They simply changed figures against line items. They appeared unmindful of the country’s economic predicament that prompted the Central Bank of Nigeria to warn last week that hard times awaited Nigerians.
Perversely, under the State House HQTRS votes, N278 million is earmarked for the Maintenance of Office Buildings/Residential quarters. Yet, the same sub-head got N421.27 million in 2015 and N907.11 million in 2014. The nonsense continued with N599.01 million voted for the Purchase of Motor Vehicles, N278 million to purchase buses and another N340 million for the purchase of cars, BMW and Jeeps, and yet another N120 million for 16-seater Toyota Hiace buses. What kind of budgeting in the 21st century allows N369.33 million for “Other Capital projects”? Are there capital projects that have no names? What is the urgency that requires N3.91 billion in these hard times on Rehabilitation/Repair of office buildings?
Yahaya-Gusau; Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun; and National Planning Minister, Udo Udo-Udoma, have questions to answer. As usual, votes for the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation are also scary. The office gets a curious N1.71 billion for “security equipment;” for which it got N316.42 million in 2015 and N396.79 million for rehabilitation/repair of “electrical components.” The same office is allocated N181.28 million for “computer software acquisition,” even when it got N107.58 million and N580 million for the same heading in 2015 and 2014 respectively.
Our government owes Nigerians an explanation for its obsession with vehicles. What is the SGF’s office doing with N400.19 million to purchase motor vehicles, after the N107.58 million it got in 2015 and N184 million in 2014 (N70 million for motor vehicles and N114 million for buses)? Buhari and the National Assembly should interrogate the new one on Research and Development, for which the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation is getting N501.52 million this year after the N312 million it got last year and a staggering N1.17 billion in 2014, and N250 million for the Finance Ministry.
Terribly poor, fraud-prevalent budgets have been our lot these past 16 years. Buhari disappoints by allowing the bureaucrats to continue the rip-off. He should knock heads, not only to punish culprits for tainting his reputation, but especially to put a final end to the travesty. The DG Budget is either unprepared, inattentive or both. Adeosun and Udo-Udoma were careless and failed to properly scrutinise and edit the document. The other ministers too cannot claim ignorance of the waste embedded in their ministries’, departments’ and agencies’ votes.
We insist that only fraud and intent to defraud by bureaucrats can explain how money is voted every year for kitchen/canteen equipment, computers and accessories, vehicles, renovation of buildings and clinic equipment. No sane person replaces his kitchen equipment or computers yearly. The fatal flaw in our public governance is the propensity of officials to wallow in the highest levels of opulence in the midst of mass poverty and unemployment. Some 27 state governments are struggling to pay salaries, millions are unemployed, basic social services are mostly absent, while the budget is padded with irrelevance and waste. Yet, many in government cannot rein in spending, waste or make sacrifices. It is unacceptable.
Worldwide, responsive governments are cutting costs. Mighty United States has adopted sequestration, translating to across-the-board budget cuts, while it has directed spending to stimulus that has produced 14 million jobs in seven years and saved $85 billion in 2013. Cost-cutting budget cuts in the United Kingdom were preceded by cuts in perks for elected officials, aimed at creating one million new jobs in five years and a surplus of £11.6 billion by 2020/21, while Malaysia and Saudi Arabia have introduced cuts in their 2016 budgets. Tanzania’s President John Magafuli, provides an excellent example of a responsive leader. He has cancelled national day celebrations, cut down state banquets, banned first class air travel, restricted official functions to ministries instead of expensive hotels and reduced his delegation to a Commonwealth conference from 50 persons to just four.
Buhari should drastically reduce the presidential air fleet of 10 planes to two, slash costs drastically like Magafuli and promptly dismiss officials that cannot fall in line with the change dispensation. He should start by taking a pruning knife to this embarrassing budget.
