Waiting For 34 Priority Projects

Now that the Federal Government’s 2016 budget has been signed into law after a protracted process and tortuous delay, all Nigerians look up to President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet to speedily deliver on the promises contained in the budget. Eyes will particularly focus on the “34 strategic priority programmes and projects” that Federal Government […]

Now that the Federal Government’s 2016 budget has been signed into law after a protracted process and tortuous delay, all Nigerians look up to President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet to speedily deliver on the promises contained in the budget. Eyes will particularly focus on the “34 strategic priority programmes and projects” that Federal Government said it intends to deliver beginning with the 2016 budget. Minister of State for Budget and National Planning Mrs.  Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed outlined these key programs and projects last Wednesday soon after a cabinet meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
According to her, the 34 projects are grouped into four major categories of governance and security; diversification of the economy; creating support for the poor and the vulnerable, and reflating the economy through investment. Without doubt, all four areas are needed in order to alleviate the difficult economic conditions that prevail in this country and to begin the task of laying the foundation for a better future, where a  drop in international oil prices will not again send our economy reeling. Mrs. Ahmed said each of these projects has “clear deliverables, targets and indicators to ensure that ministries, departments and agencies deliver on implementation.” This is very important because in this country, we have never lacked good government plans and projects. Far too many of them ended up on the paper they were written, so Nigerians will like to know all the deliverables with the target dates so that we will know if these are being achieved. We must not wait until the next budget is presented only to hear that a certain low percentage of this year’s budget has been implemented.
Among the priority areas listed by the minister are to achieve and maintain a capital spend minimum of 30 percent annually so as to reflate the economy and enhance employment generation; achieve an appropriate and predictable exchange rate regime by year’s end; increase low interest lending to the real sector at single digit, “maybe nine percent”; and to attain self-sufficiency in tomato paste production in 2016 and in rice production by 2018. The latter is particularly important because this country spent $2.41 billion on rice imports between January 2012 and May 2015 and another $1bn on tomato paste imports. As for the first three, we must say that a stable exchange rate and capital spending ratio are not ends in themselves but are means to an end. Government also intends to end imports of maize, soya beans, poultry and livestock though the deadline for these “is to be announced later in the year.”
Other priority programs listed by Mrs. Ahmed include a plan to intensify local production of cassava, cocoa, cashew nuts, fruits and sesame seeds and to make use of 5,000 hectares arable land in 12 River Basin Development Authorities and to utilise 22 dams for commercial farming. These are the kind of objectives that, unless government deploys the greatest political will, could drag on interminably without results. The river basin authorities were created more than 40 years ago and they have woefully failed to achieve their full potential despite billions of borrowed dollars sank into them over the decades.
Other priorities for this year, according to the minister, are rail and power projects. One of them is “to optimise up to 7,000 megawatts installed capacity with the associated infrastructure so as to enhance investment, productivity and employment.” As a result of endless government promises in this sector that were made and breached in the last 16 years, any mention of target megawatts these days attracts a yawn from Nigerians. We hope that the Buhari administration will finally break this jinx and deliver on a vastly improved national power supply, the key factor needed for accelerated economic growth and development. Government also intends to complete the Kaduna-Abuja-Ajaokuta railway lines in 2016 and to “commence the construction of the Lagos – Kano standard gauge rail line and also to finalize the negotiation regarding the Calabar-Lagos rail line.” Once again the Buhari regime must overcome a jinx to deliver on this promise, except for the Abuja-Kaduna rail line on which much progress has already been made.
Still other  priority projects listed by Minister Mrs. Ahmed are to undertake rehabilitation and construction of 31 major road projects; adopt and execute comprehensive national oil and gas policy; set a three-year deadline to achieve self-sufficiency in refined petroleum products and to become a net exporter of petroleum products;  and push for passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). Achieving self-sufficiency in refined petroleum products and even becoming a net exporter will require deregulation of the downstream oil sector and privatisation of the four oil refineries. So far, President Buhari has shown the utmost reluctance to pursue this policy line.
The remaining priority projects listed by the minister are for Nigeria to move 20 places up the ranking from 169 to 149 in the global index of Ease of Doing Business. This entails curbing bureaucratic bottlenecks in project approval, acquisition of land titles and issuance of visas for persons seeking to come into the country do business. Considering what the Buhari administration went through in the hands of civil servants in mere budget preparation, it is up for a major bureaucratic fight to achieve this target. Also listed as priority projects are investing in the lives of people by implementing social projects covering health and education, as well as rehabilitating 5,000 primary health centres in 5,000 wards this year. The latter project is problematic because primary health care is a local government matter, not federal government’s. As for the N500 billion social welfare projects, all Nigerians, particularly the unemployed and very poor, await those ones with salivating mouths.