Ahmed Popoola is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, CRC Credit Bureau Limited. In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf he speaks on the lingering issues of budget delays and all the problems associated with it. Excerpts:
The federal government formally signed the budget last Wednesday after almost 200 days of beginning the process. Coming on the heels of an election year, there are fears in some quarters that the fiscal policy may not be implemented to the letter. Do you share such sentiments?
Well, I just think that it’s not good enough as a nation that year in year out, the budget comes out for implementation very late in the course of the year. It’s really shortchanging the citizens and the populace at large because a lot of the project that are meant to have been implemented either they end up not been done at all or they’re rushed and the people don’t get value for what is put in the budget. That’s why the implementation target, especially the percentage of the implementation we see year in year out is very low. Compared to some state governments that are now like perfected the act of running effective budgeting cycle, such as Lagos State. If you compare Lagos State for instance, in the last 10 years, Lagos State achieved not less than 70-80% of their budget because the budget comes out in time and so they’re able to implement it religiously. But when you a budget that is supposed to run for 12 months and six months is gone, then there is a challenge there and I think we should have to go back to the basics.
Shouldn’t there be a specific timeline on when the budget can be passed?
We need to set up a serious budgeting process cycle that speaks to maximising the benefit of the budgeting process. In the US which we copy, the budget must go to the two houses by February; so they have almost eight months to discuss the budget. So I think the issue first of all is not just about the thing coming out very late, it’s also about when exactly do the Executive also present the budget and what level of work have gone into what they have submitted? Because the National Assembly is not meant to be a rubber stamp to just pass a budget without asking questions. So the National Assembly as the representative of the people, they need to know what the Executive want to do, why they want to do it, what did they do with what was given before. And if they don’t get satisfactory responses from the Executive on time, then they have the right to ask those questions and to make sure that they do what is within their conscience to pass the budget. But be that as it may, this particular budget, I think there was a lot of politicking that went into it. And I think at the end of the day, it’s the people of Nigeria that are the losers. I think the politicians should know that they’re elected to serve the interest of the people and not just to play politics with the lives of the people. As it is now, well, I guess the budget year implementation is not end in December, the implementation will probably end around March or April next year so they still have some opportunity to religiously implement the budget.
Considering the delay in passing the budget what would you suggest in order to achieve quick wins?
I think what they should do is to hit the ground running now, especially for the capital projects, which is the most important part of what would benefit the citizenry, which is me and you. So if they have done their homework on the capital project, I think they can start immediately. They will operate this till around March, which incidentally is also the time when election is going to take place. So I believe they can still do a lot having realised that this is an election year in particular and they need to impress the electorate. And I guess some of the things they were not even able to do in the last three years, may be this time around they would rush it to be able to get to certain places, certain communities and sectors which the budget is meant to address and then prosecute and execute diligently. So I think they can still cover a lot of ground knowing full well that we’re in an election year and they want to impress the citizens. Knowing full well that they have up till March which is almost about nine months, I think they can still do a lot with it.
What other measures can be taken to avoid delay in the budget process?
Going forward, maybe we need a law around the budget cycle and say this is maximum and latest period the Executive must submit budget to the National Assembly and this is the latest period that the budget must be passed. Just give them about five or six months to do their job, then submit your own estimate on time so that all the work they need to do on them because the budget could be divided into sections each committee will go and liaise with the various ministry and departmental agencies (MDAs) proposing what they want to do and it takes a lot of time and if you want to do thorough job, then of course, you must do it on time knowing full well that our budget year is meant to be January to December.