SIR: The federal budget is usually suffused with requests by Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government (MDAs) for the purchase, maintenance and fuelling of plants and generators. This has become the proverbial tortoise that cannot elude a folk tale. The fact is that Nigeria lacks steady power supply and MDAs therefore try to take undue advantage of this to make spurious provisions for this line item. In the 2013 budget, certain requests for generators, fuelling and maintenance need a thorough review so as not to waste public resources.
The wastages found on this item are categorized in three stages; purchase of plants/generators, fuelling and maintenance. In many instances, separate huge amounts of public funds are allocated to these segments.
Take for an example the Presidency. The 2013 budget provides for N72,510,832 to fuel generators in the State House Headquarters alone. Also, the Presidency in its entirety is to spend the sum of N654.02 million on generators. The money covers the cost of maintenance of plants and generators as well as fuelling them. It also covers the amount set aside to replace some generators in the institutions under the presidency. The Ministry of Petroleum Resources plans to spend N22,525,507 for fuelling of generators and N25,036,676 to maintain the generators.
Considering that the Federal Capital Territory is divided into low, middle and high income zones and the State House and the NNPC Towers are in the high socio-economic zone of Abuja. This zone enjoys regular supply of electricity from the national grid, the rationale for allocating such huge amount of public funds to these MDAs in spite of the regular supply of power to them is hard to fathom.
In the 2013 budget of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there is a provision of N27,335,017 for maintenance and fuelling of generators in foreign missions. It is justifiable to make budgetary allocations to foreign missions in some countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and other countries where war destroyed their economic infrastructure including power supply. But how can you justify budgetary allocations of purchasing, fuelling and maintenance of plants/generators in foreign missions in some countries like Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, etc, which enjoy constant power supply? For example, Nigeria’s foreign missions in two highly developed cities of Berlin and Berne got N1,092,428 for generator maintenance and another N2,834,505 for fuelling and N473,570 for maintenance and another N1,228,608 for fuelling respectively.
As if the above is not enough, MDAs include purchase of generators at very exorbitant prices and this appears year after year. It is infuriating that an agency like the National Primary Health Care Development Agency has a budgetary allocations of N23,515,181 for this purpose. The life span of every generator, even the one called “I pass my neighbor” exceeds a period of at least two years. So why is there the necessity for this perennial request for purchase of generators in the budget of MDAs each year?
The foregoing makes a strong case for the intensification of the reforms in the power sector so that there will be sustainable improvements in power generation, transmission and distribution. If the government is sincere to itself and to the general public, concerted efforts should be made in adopting and implementing integrated development plans where the good management of one sector will support the management of other sectors.
As a matter of urgency, the National Assembly should embark on downward review of the budget towards pruning the wastages allocated for purchasing, fuelling and maintaining of generators before approving the 2013 federal budget.
•Chukwuma Smart Amaefula
Centre for Social Justice, Abuja.
