Nigeria FG plans fresh financial relief package for states
The Federal
Government, Saturday, said it is finalizing a conditional Budget Support
Facility to provide financial relief to State Governments based on the states
meeting a
set of stringent fiscal conditions.
The Finance Ministry, in a
statement in Abuja, said the facility is aimed at providing support to the
states to help them overcome their financial challenges. The Ministry of
Finance said the states would only be able to access the facility if they meet
a stringent 22-point reform agenda called the Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP),
that was approved by state governments, the National Executive Council, last
month. According to the Finance Ministry, the FSP encompasses a framework of
reform measures including the requirement for the states to publish audited
financial statements and budgets, biometric and Bank Verification Number (BVN)
payroll review exercises to sanitise payroll costs, as well as limits on
recurrent expenditure levels.
Other reforms, the Ministry said, will require
states to set and meet targets to enhance Internally Generated Revenue (IGR),
the establishment of Efficiency Units to reduce overhead costs, privatisation
of State Owned Enterprises, domestication of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and
limitations on securing further bank loans. More details soon.
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