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Tag: Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI)

  • Non-review of PSCs causes Nigeria $16b loss- NEITI

    A quantitative study by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has revealed that Nigeria lost at least $16b over a ten-year period (2008 – 2017) due to non-review of the 1993 Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) with oil companies. 

    The study, which was done in conjunction with Open Oil (a Berlin-based extractive sector transparency group) indicates that the losses could be up to $28b if, after the review, the Federation were allowed to share profit oil from two additional licenses.

    In its latest publication titled, ‘‘1993 PSCs: The Steep Cost of Inaction’’, NEITI called for an urgent review of the PSCs to stem the huge revenue losses to the Federation. Such a review it said is particularly important for the federation because oil production from PSCs has surpassed production from JVs. Thus, productions from PSCs now contribute the largest share to federation revenue. 

    The Director of Communication, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, who disclosed this in a statement yesterday quoted the study as saying that: “Between 1998 and 2005, total production by PSC companies was below 100,000,000 barrels per year while JV companies produced over 650,000,000 barrels per year’’. By 2017, total production by PSC companies was 305,800,000 barrels, which was 44.32% of total production. Total production by JV companies was 212,850,000 barrels, representing 30.84% of total production.” 

    NEITI in the policy brief stated that the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts provided for a review of the terms on two conditions: 

    The first review was to be triggered if oil prices exceeded $20 per barrel. Section 16 (1) of the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts specifies that: 

    “the provisions of the Act shall be subject to review to ensure that if the price of crude oil at any time exceeds $ 20 per barrel, real terms, the share of the Government of the Federation in the additional revenue shall be adjusted under the Production Sharing Contracts to such extent that the Production Sharing Contracts shall be economically beneficial to the Government of the Federation.”

    NEITI observed that this review should have been activated in 2004 when oil prices exceeded the $20 per barrel mark. Although the review was not done in 2004, the judgement of the Supreme Court in October 2018 had mandated the Attorney General of the Federation to work together with the governments of Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Bayelsa States to recover all lost revenues accruable to the Federation with effect from the respective times when the price of crude oil exceeded $20 per barrel. 

    The statement also noted that the second review was to be activated 15 years following commencement of the PSC Act.

    Section 16 (2) states that: “Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the provisions of this Decree shall be liable to review after a period of 15 years from the date of commencement and every 5 years thereafter”.

    It recalled that at  inception in 1993, the PSC terms were drawn up to incentivize and attract oil and gas companies to invest in the exploration and production of offshore fields considering the risks involved coupled with low oil prices. Thus the PSC contracts were supposedly more beneficial to the companies. 

    However, the Law anticipates that the companies would have recouped their investments when oil price increases and after many years of operations, hence the two trigger clauses in the Act. 

    Since the Supreme Court judgement has addressed the condition for the first review, this second review was the focus of NEITI’s Policy Brief. According to NEITI, this second review should have happened in 2008 and informed why it chose 2008 as the the start date for commencement of estimated losses in the model. 

    The statement reads in part: “NEITI explained that the analysis was conducted for the seven producing fields of the 1993 PSCs. These are: 

    i. Abo (OML 125): operated by Eni;

    ii. Agbami-Ekoli (OML 127 & OML 128): operated by Chevron;

    iii. Akpo & Egina (OML 130): operated by Total and South Atlantic Petroleum;

    iv. Bonga (OML 118): operated by Shell;

    v. Erha (OML 133): operated by ExxonMobil;

    vi. Okwori & Nda (OML 126): operated by Addax;

    vii. Usan (OML 133): operated by ExxonMobil. 

    “After compiling data from the seven offshore fields on oil production, oil prices, cost of development, operating costs, decommissioning costs, and the applicable fiscal regimes, NEITI explained that financial modeling, the standard methodology in the industry, was adopted to estimate revenue in the study. 

    “Putting the losses in project terms, NEITI reported that the lower threshold loss of $16.03bn to the Federation Account would have funded the Port Harcourt – Maiduguri rail line put at between $14bn to $15bn. Other projects that the lost revenue could have been used to fund include the “Mambila Power Plant of 3,050 MW at $5.72 billion, while the estimated cost of the Ibadan-Ilorin-Minna-Kano Standard Gauge Line is $6.1 billion. 

    “The combined cost of these projects is $11.82 billion, which is less than the lower threshold of estimated losses…. the Calabar-Lagos Railine ($11 billion), Fourth Mainland Bridge ($1.4 billion), Badagdry Deep Water Port Complex ($1.6 billion), and Lekki Deep Seaport ($1.2 billion)” the Publication revealed. 

    “Meanwhile, the higher threshold estimate of $28.61 billion can fund 99% of the proposed federal government budget for 2019.”

    NEITI recommended that the  FG through its appropriate agencies should commence urgent process to review the PSC agreement with oil companies now not later.

    It also asked that  the FG should note that the affected contractors have expressed willingness to negotiate these terms and therefore they and the state governments should be carried along in the review process. 

    The watchdog organization said that the NNPC should follow international best practices and make the contracts with oil companies public in other to ensure transparency and maximum government take, as Nigerians can properly scrutinize such contracts and draw attention to areas of improvement. 

    The publication by NEITI is consistent with its mandate of ensuring that it “Monitors and ensures that all payments due to the Federal Government from all extractive industry companies, including taxes, royalties, dividends, bonuses, penalties, levies and such like, are duly made”.

    The statement explained that the NEITI Policy Brief is one of the agency’s policy and advocacy instruments, designed to focus the attention of policy makers and citizens on important issues in the extractive sector, especially those requiring urgent attention.

  • NEITI uncovers $20b recoverable revenues

    The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has uncovered $20 billion recoverable revenues, its Executive Secretary, Waziri Adio, said yesterday.

    He spoke in Kiev, Ukraine at the ongoing 42nd meeting of the Extractive Industry Initiative (EITI) Board.

    Meanwhile, the International Board of EITI has ranked Nigeria for its ‘Satisfactory Progress’ in the implementation of its principles in the country’s extractive sector.

    This ranking is second highest in EITI implementation. The global body also applauded the country for using EITI process to shape reforms and improve transparency in the extractive sector.

    Adio said: “Through NEITI’s reports and interventions, Nigerians now know more about the operations of the sector, which despite low commodity prices, still remains the backbone of their economy.

    “Citizens, civic groups and the media are now better armed with information to ask probing questions and make informed contributions to governance

    “Over time, various governments have used information from NEITI’s reports to recover almost $3billion that would have ended up unpaid.”

    Nigeria’s pioneering use of multi-stakeholder governance to disclose data on its upstream extractives value chain was recognised by EITI Board.

    The country has now become the first Anglophone African country to have made satisfactory progress in implementing all the requirements of EITI Standard.

    It now faces the challenge of entrenching this transparency in routine government and company systems.

    Chair of EITI Board, Fredrik Reinfeldt, said: “Nigeria’s implementation of the EITI Standard had remained in many respects a model for implementing countries globally.

    “Apart from its scope, NEITI reports have shaped major reforms initiated in the sector, including those by the national oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). We hope the government will continue to use NEITI process to inform its policies for better governance,” he added.

    Over 15 years of implementing EITI standard, the NEITI has become an independent watchdog that holds stakeholders in the crucial hydrocarbons – and more recently solid minerals – sector to account.

    Since 2017, NEITI has disclosed key data on its allocation of licences, on the administration of oil and gas subnational transfers and on crude sales and other processes within the NNPC.

    Minister of Finance and EITI Board member, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, said: “The NEITI reports form the basis for reforms in the oil, gas and mining industry, as was laid out in the  2015 political campaign manifesto of the present administration.

    “Inspired by  EITI, the Nigerian government now conducts monthly routine reconciliations for all sectors, not just the extractives, which have increased government revenues,” she added.

  • NEITI applauds Senate, calls for speedy House concurrence to PIGB

    NEITI applauds Senate, calls for speedy House concurrence to PIGB

    The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has applauded the Senate for the passage of Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) and called for speedy House concurrence to the bill.

    A statement issued in Abuja on Friday by Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Director, Communications for NEITI said the decision of the Senate to consider the bill as priority resulted in its passage.

    He described the passage of the bill as legendary and historic, given the challenges the bill had passed through in its legislative journey for almost two decades.

    Orji said that NEITI as an agency set up to enthrone transparency and accountability in the management of extractive industries in Nigeria, “has legitimate interest in the PIGB in view of its strategic importance to the realisation of its mandate.”

    He said that NEITI, therefore, called on the House of Representatives to find similar courage to give the bill accelerated consideration on its merit in overriding public interest.

    The NEITI director of communications said that the passage of the bill came more than seventeen years after the process commenced in April 2000.

    “We note that the objective of a petroleum sector law remains to develop a dynamic governance framework that will re-position the Petroleum Industry.

    “Also make the sector to fully embrace competition, openness, accountability, professionalism as well as better profit returns on investments.

    “NEITI also notes that the public outcry that greeted the failure of the last National Assembly to pass this important Bill.

    “Perhaps this informed the current Senate’s resolve to revive legislative interest on the bill resulting in the milestone achievement recorded at the moment.

    “We are delighted that to avoid the controversies that killed the last PIB, the current Senate, carefully assembled experts who carefully broke the Bill into various segments beginning with the governance aspect of the proposed law.

    “The PIG bill now passed by the Senate is a product of this creative initiative”, he said.

    He said current stagnation of investment opportunities in the Industry and negative consequences to the economy due to absence of the new law “made the agency to publish a researched Policy Brief titled “Urgency of a new Law for the Petroleum Sector” in 2016.

    He said that NEITI shared the publication with members of the National Assembly; which alerted the nation that Nigeria had so far lost over $200 billion as a result of absence of the Law.

    “And these lost revenues were as a result of investments withheld or diverted by investors to other (more predictable) jurisdictions’’.

    Orji said that the hedging by investors stemmed from the expectation that the old rules would no longer apply, but not knowing when the new ones would materialise.

    He said that NEITI’s 2013 audit of the sector revealed that a cumulative $10.4billion and N378.7billion were lost as a result of under-remittances, inefficiencies, theft or absence of a clear governance framework for the sector.

    Orji said the cost to the nation in 2013 alone was N1.74 trillion.

    He said that it was now hoped that with the prospects of a new Law coming into place, the huge revenue losses to the nation as a result of governance lapses would be eliminated.

    According to him, NEITI looks forward to carefully studying the contents of the PIGB as passed by the Senate and called on all stakeholders to commend Senate for what had been achieved so far.

    Orji also commended the media, civil society organisations, industry, stakeholders and experts for their valued contributions to the process.

    He said that NEITI would hold a multi-stakeholders dialogue on the provisions of the bill as passed by the Senate to set the stage for informed stakeholders’ engagements “on how this Bill will positively influence the on-going reforms in the oil and gas industry.”

  • NEITI seeks partnership with media 

    NEITI seeks partnership with media 

    The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has urged social media influencers in the country to lead the advocacy for massive reforms in the management of the country’s oil, gas and mining sectors.

    Chairman of the Communications Committee of NEITI’s National Stakeholders’ Working Group, (NSWG) and veteran journalist Mr. Gbenga Onayiga made the call in Lagos while declaring open a workshop on “The role of New Media in reporting the extractive sector organized for social media influencers in Lagos.

    The watchdog agency made this overture known in a statement Thursday.

    Mr. Onayiga identified social media influencers as critical success factor in NEITI’s public education and enlightenment programmes on prudent management of the country’s natural resources.

    “The social media provides suitable platforms for NEITI to deepen its advocacy and engagements with multi-stakeholders especially the younger generation. The social media platforms will help disseminate basic information and data on the process and benefits of Nigeria’s implementation of the Standards of the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. This is to ensure that revenues from the sector support national development, reduce poverty and rescue the country from the syndrome of resource curse”, Mr. Onayiga stated.

    He   identified the role of the social media to include dissemination of NEITI audit reports, simplification of issues, citizen’s mobilization, campaign and advocacy for implementation of recommendations, monitoring and evaluation of the results and impacts in the lives of the citizens.

    Mr. Onayiga further noted that the task of promoting transparency and accountability by the social media is a role that must not be abdicated. He implored them to observe a high degree of responsibility, objectivity, accuracy, truth, balance, professional and self – regulation, quality content and responsibility in fulfilling this important role so as to earn public trust.

    The Director of Communications for NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji while welcoming the participants explained that the workshop which is the second in the series of capacity building initiatives for influencers was designed to expose the social media influencers in Lagos to the EITI principles, the emerging global trends and the specific role of influencers in natural resource governance in Nigeria.

    Dr. Orji noted that for the social media to effectively play its role, practitioners have to be adequately exposed and enlightened on all aspects of the EITI process, including its benefits and challenges.  He urged the participants to take advantage of the presence of experts assembled as resource persons to broaden their knowledge of the EITI and the extractive sector value chain.

    The week-long workshop is being attended by leading social media influencers based in Lagos and its environs. The resource persons were drawn from NEITI, development partners, top echelon of the media and the civil society.

    NEITI had in November, 2016, held a similar workshop for social media influencers in Abuja and its environs with the support of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI).

     

  • NEITI to sanction defaulters of company registration

    The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) says it will sanction people who provide wrong names of beneficial owners of companies.

    Mr Peter Ogbobine, NEITI’s Legal Director, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday that the organisation would also start publishing names of real owners of companies by Jan. 1, 2020.

    “The people that are filling the (wrong) template for beneficial owner, we are going to make it in a way that there will be sanctions against them.

    “So if the person filling the form puts a wrong name there, we will hold him liable and there will be criminal offences against him for lying and putting the wrong name of somebody who is not the beneficial owner.

    “So it is to fish out those surrogates and to bring out the beneficial owners so that we know who they are, explain how they got their monies to get those licenses. So that is the essence of beneficial ownership.

    “The Corporate Affairs register is going to be more encompassing. It is not going to be only for extractive industries, it is going to be for all companies that operate in Nigeria.

    “So you will know at any time who are the beneficial owners and who the true owners of that company are,” he said.

    He also added that the new template would require the true names of company owners before registration in order to ensure more transparency in the system.

    “When we send out our templates on beneficiary ownership, the company’s secretary or legal adviser must tell us who the real owners of the companies are.

    “This is an anti corruption tool that we want to use to ascertain the true owners of these extractive assets.’’

    The beneficiary ownership template is about getting the real owners of companies in the country to register it in their names and not hide behind surrogates.

  • NNPC yet to remit $15.8b to FG account – NEITI

    The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) says Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is yet to remit 15.8 billion dollars collected from Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to the Federation account, in spite of the report submitted to the Federal Government.

    Mr. Peter Ogbobine, Director Legal, NEITI, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday that the figure was the accumulation from 2000 to 2014.

    He observed that although NEITI had presented a report to that effect to the Federal government, no action had been taken against NNPC.

    “When LNG started operating, it paid dividend to the NNPC but the corporation was claiming that it was supposed to be the owner of the shares in LNG and not the Federal Government.

    “When the LNG pays the money to the NNPC, it used some of it to run its operations.

    “But we are saying no; that this money, once it is paid to them by LNG, it should go straight to the Federation Account and it has been accumulating over the years.

    “We always bring it to the burner anywhere we go, that this money has to be remitted to the federation account,’’ Ogbobine said.

    The director, however, called on the Federal Government to compel NNPC to remit the amount into the federation account for the benefit of all Nigerians.

    NEITI is set to establish an Open Contracting Data Standard platform for procurement of goods and services, especially in the oil and gas sector.

    The initiative also ensures transparency in procurement process through the whole value chain of extractive sector, down to exploration, mining, revenue generated and how it is spent. 

  • NDDC faults Sagay on allegation of wasting funds on vehicles

    NDDC faults Sagay on allegation of wasting funds on vehicles

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has faulted a legal icon, Prof. Itse Sagay, SAN, on allegation that the commission is wasting huge sums of money on vehicles.

    The Federal Government’s interventionist agency, Thursday in Port Harcourt, through its Head, Corporate Affairs, Chijioke Amu-Nnadi, declared that no such purchase was made since assumption of office on November 4, 2016 of the current governing board.

    Sagay, who is also the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, claimed that NDDC bought over seventy cars that included eight super Lexus that cost N70 million each and ten Toyota Landcruiser jeeps at N65 million each.

    Amu-Nnadi said: “It is a known fact that the Chairman, the distinguished Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nsima Ekere, and the two Executive Directors (of NDDC) are still using their private vehicles, three months after assumption of duties.

    “The NDDC is only now in the process of acquiring work vehicles and it is adhering strictly to due process. The vehicles include five Toyota Prado jeeps, ten Toyota Hilux trucks, four Toyota Land cruiser jeeps, one Toyota Coaster bus and two Toyota Hiace buses.

    “The commission (NDDC) has just received the Due Process Compliance Certificate from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and it is preparing the mandatory memo for the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

    “We wish to restate that the current board and management of the NDDC are committed to making their transactions transparent, by adhering strictly to processes and procedures of government, as espoused in the board’s 4-R Initiative of restoring the commission’s core mandate, restructuring the balance sheet, reforming our processes and reaffirming a commitment to doing what is right and proper at all times in facilitating the sustainable development of the Niger Delta region.”

    Spokesman if the commission also disclosed that NDDC was partnering with the Bureau for Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and Open Government Partnership (OGP) to improve the commission’s governance systems, procurement and project implementation processes, in order to plug all loopholes and systematically eliminate all incidents of mismanagement and corruption.

    Amu-Nnadi stated that NDDC was always ready to open its books for audit, while also remaining committed to responding to all inquiries from well-meaning individuals and groups seeking clarification on rumours and possible false information.

    While asking for support from all stakeholders to enable the commission succeed in the ambitious task of reforms, the head of corporate affairs maintained that the new NDDC was evolving as a responsible public institution, stressing that members of the public should feel free to get authentic information on its activities, to avoid sensationalism.

  • N1.19b NDDC projects duplicated, says NEITI

    N1.19b NDDC projects duplicated, says NEITI

    The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has told the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Management Retreat that from its Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursement Audit Report covering 2007-2011, the sum of N7.4 Billion allocated to member states of the Commission for grass root development projects in the respective states could not be accounted for while twenty two of such projects valued at N1. 19 Billion were duplicated.

    The watchdog organization said that it will partner with the commission to enthrone transparency and accountability in the operations of the agency.

    The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Waziri Adio gave the assessment in his presentation to the Retreat of the Commission held in Port Harcourt.

    Adio noted that the NDDC and NEITI were set up with similar mandates targeted at addressing the syndrome of resource curse, a situation where countries like Nigeria blessed with abundant natural resources find their larger population living in abject poverty as a result of over – dependence on the natural resource and mismanagement of revenues accruing from the resource.

    NEITI Monday’s statement that made this disclosure noted that the Executive Secretary, lamented that over the years public perception of NDDC was more of an agency with huge revenue resources but with little impact on the lives of the people of the Niger Delta.

    The Executive Secretary who was represented by NEITI’s Director, Communications, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji urged the new team at the NDDC to carry out a corruption risk assessment that will enable the agency develop a framework to strengthen its operations.

    The NEITI Reports presented to the Commission’s Retreat disclosed that a total of $1.98 Billion were remitted to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2007 and 2014.
    This was in addition to the sum of N594 billion paid to the Commission in local currency during the same period.

    The breakdown of the remittances shows that NDDC received N594 Billion from 2007 to 2011 while $559 Million was paid to the Commission in 2012.

    NEITI Report findings also show that in 2013, the NDDC received $563 Million while in 2014, the sum of $865 Million were remitted to the Commission.

    The NEITI Executive Secretary urged the new Board and Management of the NDDC to carry out an independent project implementation audit, commit to good corporate governance and the principles of the global extractive industries transparency initiative.

    The Managing Director of the NDDC, Mr. Nsima Ekere, welcomed the emerging partnership between NEITI and the NDDC and pledged to use the NEITI Reports as major tools to enthrone accountability and corporate governance.

    He gave the assurance that the NDDC under the new Board and management will fully embrace the principles of the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to reverse the resource curse syndrome in the Niger Delta, through efficient resource utilization, corporate governance and project delivery.

    The NDDC Retreat was attended by members of the National Assembly, Ministers, the media, civil society and development partners.

  • Obasanjo, Yar’adua, Jonathan blew over N70trn oil money in 15 years – Adio

    Obasanjo, Yar’adua, Jonathan blew over N70trn oil money in 15 years – Adio

    Executive Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Waziri Adio, Tuesday said that the administrations of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan blew over N70 trillion earned from sale of crude oil and gas between 1999 and 2014.

    Adio disclosed this in his office during an oversight visit by the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs.

    The NEITI boss insisted that unless the country developed a prudent way of expenditure, it is likely to be in for difficult times in the years to come.

    He noted that it was unfortunate that despite the huge earnings from sales of crude oil over the years, the country was unable to account for over $100 billion in the excess crude account.

    He urged the Federal Government to immediately develop a saving culture that would ensure slash on government spending to the interest of the country.

    Adio said: “Let me inform the committee that we discovered that between 1999 and 2014, the country spent over N70 trillion it received from oil and gas alone. That is a whole lot of money. What is sad is that it was spent without the country being able to show anything for it. I think it is quite unfortunate.”

    “For the sake of emphasis, however, I think if previous administrations had developed a culture for prudent management of resources, Nigeria ought to have over $100 billion saved in the excess crude account. So, going forward, it is necessary for government to think about saving a lot more, and do all it can as well to cut down on wasteful spending if the nation must make progress.”

    On the challenges confronting the agency, Adio told the committee that the country risked suspension from the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), if the agency failed to complete its audit report by a given deadline which comes up in December this year.

    The NEITI boss also decried the paucity of funds in the agency due to late releases by the Ministry of Finance.

    He blamed lack of funds for the inability of the agency to conclude work on its audit report to the EITI.

    He noted that should Nigeria be suspended from the world body as a result of the agency’s failure to meet the December deadline for the submission of its audit report, the development would be an embarrassment on the image and reputation of the country.

    He said, “The agency has been battling with the issue of funding, and this is due to late releases. As a result of this challenge which we face, we have been unable to conclude work on the 2014 audit report.

    The deadline which we have been given is December, and this is due to the two year interval required to come up with one as stipulated by the world body. Failure to meet it may result in Nigeria’s suspension. That will be very embarrassing for us as a nation.”

    Vice Chairman of the Senate committee, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi (Kaduna North), noted that the committee would require the effort of NEITI to close the communication gap between the agency and the upper chamber with a view to ensuring effective collaboration.

    He said that NEITI is the second agency of government among other that has not received its capital releases adequately met by the federal government.

    He described the development as “a misnomer.”

    Hunkuyi said, “All agencies have had releases between 45 percent and 65 per cent. It is a misnomer to find that your agency up till this time has got less than 30 per cent, a figure which falls short of the average releases.

    “Our focus now is to help you achieve greater heights, and this involves working with you and putting heads together so as to avoid a repeat of non-release of funds in the 2017 budget.”