The Federal Government has reiterated that in the face of dwindling Federal revenue, its commitment towards addressing the high cost of governance and corruption in the country remains undeterred, going into 2021.
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This statement was made by the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba, during his presentation on the high cost of governance and corruption at a Stakeholder’s meeting hosted by the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) on Tuesday.
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He reiterated that it has become imperative to look inward and cut avoidable cost arising from governance, with the recent economic vulnerabilities in the nation, amid the growing weakness in the global economy, heightened by uncertainties around the world as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt global trade and investment.
In this vein, he noted that addressing the high cost of governance and corruption in Nigeria is a top priority of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, and this will remain in the fiscal year 2021.
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According to him, the government will continue to reduce the cost of governance in the country. He revealed that the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in 2015 was a step towards addressing mismanagement of public funds, as the policy helped the Government to consolidate inflows from all agencies of government into a single account at the Central Bank.
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Whilst speaking on key reforms to further reduce the cost of governance in the nation, he suggested reforms in the procurement process and effective budgeting by identifying the cost-effectiveness of public programmes and projects that ensure quality over quantity.
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What you should know about efforts to reduce the cost of governance
- It is important to note that the Treasury Single Account (TSA) which was implemented in 2015 by the Buhari administration, was proposed by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. The policy was formulated to consolidate inflows from all agencies of government into a single account of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
- The Federal Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, on the occasion of the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on TSA with the Republic of The Gambia in Abuja, on November 17 2020, disclosed that Nigeria has been saving about N45 billion monthly in interest payments, since the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in 2015.
- However, the Buhari anti-corruption campaign and his efforts to reduce mismanagement have not achieved a significant milestone in the overall prevention of corruption in the country and mismanagement of resources.
- Data collected by Transparency International in its Corruption Perceptions Index, revealed that Nigeria is currently ranked 146th out of 180 countries in the 2019 corruption perception Index (148th in 2017) and the 14th most vulnerable country out of 125 countries on the 2020 Basel Anti-Money-Laundering Index.
