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Finance Minister is being Fiscally Responsible in Budget Implementation – Okupe

By on August 2, 2012

The Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, has waded into the ongoing battle between the Executive and Legislative over budget implementation.

Okupe said categorically that it would be an unserious manager of resources that would implement the budget whilst incurring loans and servicing same loans even though the Ministries, Departments and Agencies were currently not in need of the said funds.

He explained that the MDAs were already in possession of funds released to them which they had not utilized, and were sitting in their bank accounts. He also explained that the 2012 budget carries a N1 trillion plus deficit which must be financed by borrowing.
He said for the Finance ministry to begin borrowing the funds would not be prudent as there was no paucity of funds within the MDAs at the moment.

He said, “I see the current misunderstanding between the members of the NASS and the Federal Government, especially the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as something that is not very healthy and not necessary. The Assembly is saying that because money has been budgeted, it ought to be released as per the quarter it is due. Now, this is fiscally unadvisable and no serious manager of nation resources will dispense money in that manner. I want to bring up the fact that there is a budget deficit of over a N1tr in the budget. The implication of which is that some part of the money required to fund the budget will be borrowed.”

He explained that borrowing would attract an interest charge of 15% and so why borrow when it isn’t a do-or-die situation.