Fiscal responsibility: FG scores 9 MDAs low

From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja

AS part of efforts to curb cor­ruption and foster fiscal disci­pline in the Ministries, Depart­ments and Agencies (MDAs) of government, Federal Gov­ernment yesterday, in Abuja, presented a fiscal responsibil­ity index of all the MDAs with nine ministries failing below the minimum benchmark.
Out of the 16 MDAs sur­veyed, the Federal Ministries of Lands and Housing, Trans­port, Health, Women Affairs, Science and Technology, Aviation, Finance, Water Re­sources and Education failed below minimum benchmark. These ministries, according to the index, woefully performed below expectation.
In his welcome remarks, Acting Chairman of Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Mr. Victor Muruako, said there has been a renewed call for government agencies not to shirk their responsibil­ity in remitting their operating surplus. He said that since the inception of the commission, it has induced the MDAs to pay over N367 billion to the consolidated revenue fund.
“Since it began operation in 2009, the Commission had made remittance of operating surplus by MDAs its battle cry, such that it has induced payment of over N367 billion operating surplus by MDAs to the consolidated revenue fund as at August 2015. Such un­precedented achievement can only spur us to do more,’’he said.
According to him, the Commission has gone further to research and come up with a new template for determining operating surplus for sched­uled corporations and that in due course, meeting of rel­evant stakeholders would be convened to brainstorm on the new template.
“The realities of our present economic situation have made it imperative that every other revenue-generating agency of government is brought into the legal obligation to remit its op­erating surplus to government coffers beyond those listed in the schedule to the Act to shore up government’s revenue base,” the Chairman said.
In his remarks, the Pro­gramme Coordinator, Eco­nomic Governance of Open Society Initiative for West Af­rica (OSIWA), Amenaghawon Idahosa, said that in terms of policy-based budgeting sub-index, the Federal Ministry of Works, followed by Trade and Investment, Mines and Steel, Environment, Agriculture, Power, Youths Development, Lands and Housing, Trans­port, Health, Women Affairs, Science and Technology, Avia­tion, Finance, Water Resources and Education in that order ap­plied policy-based budgeting.