- Again, another looming clash between the executive and the legislature over the budget
Nigerians may be looking forward to the President presenting the 2017 Appropriation Bill without a hitch, believing that the executive and the legislature must have learnt useful lessons from their clash over the 2016 Bill. However, from the look of things, the process may not be as smooth as expected. Worrying signals from the Senate suggest that the budget could face more difficulties than it did early this year.
It took extra months of jousting between the executive and the legislature before President MuhammaduBuhari finally gave his assent to last year’s budget in May this year, by which time the economy had been further weakened.
It appears both sides are ready to travel the same road again. First, the tussle is over the Medium Term Economic Framework (MTEF) which usually precedes budget presentation. Although it was received by the National Assembly in October, it was not discussed by the Senate until November 23. Anyone familiar with the excruciating pains Nigerians are going through would have expected that expeditious attention would be paid to theimportant Bill.
Worse than the inexcusable delay is that the framework was discovered to be as flawed as the previous Appropriation Bill, meaning that more time would be wasted on arguments in the process of getting it right. The assumptions failed all tests. Simply put, as one legislator after another pointed out, the assumptions were unrealistic.
The executive had proposed that budgeting between 2017 and 2019 be based on production and sale of 2.2 billion barrels of crude oil daily. This flies in the face of facts. A simple review of the country’s economic performance in the past three years would show that at no time did the country achieve such production level. The federal government’s economic managers should know that there is a difference between wishes and reality.
In addition, the exchange rate was projected at N290 to the dollar. Only managers visiting from Mars could have committed such a grave error. At no time this year did the naira exchange for 290 to the dollar. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s rate today stands at N350.Where then did the projection stem from?
It is particularly laughable that the Gross Domestic Product is expected to leap from -2.2 to +3percent. This would be a feat if it were possible. Inflation rate, too, is pegged at 12.2%. At the moment it stands at 18.6%.
It is incredible that managers of the economic life of a nation aspiring to catch up with the advanced countries could be so amateurish. When a budget is based on such wild projections so far from reality, it reflects unseriousness.
We agree with the lawmakers that the people should be more involved in the budgeting process in the interest of the people. The MTEF has shown the level of competence of those who prepared it. We recommend that in future the process should be based on wide consultation with the business elite and the general populace. The relevant Non-Governmental Organisations and other related stakeholders should step up their advocacy in favour of greater participation of the people in the budgeting process. Indeed, the budget is too important to be left to politicians and bureaucrats only.
We recommend to the Federal Government the Lagos State model. In the economically exemplary state, during the preparation of the budget, members of the executive and the legislature interact to ensure that the budget is not merely an executive document. It is important to ensure that next year’s budget is formalised without further ado, based on realistic projections, and aimed at achieving relief for Nigerians as they cope with recession.
