Buhari Will Unveil Economic Recovery Road Map In December, Says Budget Minister
Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister of Budget and National Planning[/caption]
In a bid to reposition the economy on a path to economic recovery and sustainability, President Muhammadu Buhari will in December launch the National Economic Reconstruction and Growth Plan, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, has said.
Mr Udoma said the plan will be drafted by top economists and technical experts, who will work with officials from relevant government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, to develop the document.
“It is one of a number of consultations we will have before we launch the plan. We shall hold consultations with the states, our development partners, and the National Assembly. These consultations will be concluded within the next one month, because as promised by the President, this medium-term plan will be launched before the end of this year,” he stated.
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He further said the ministry had developed sectorial plans in five thematic areas as part of the economic recovery plan.
The thematic areas according to the minister are macroeconomic policy, economic diversification and growth, competitiveness, job creation and social inclusion, and governance.
Mr. Udoma urged the experts to be innovative in their contributions as it will aid the Federal Government in transforming the country’s economy, with an economic recovery and growth plan that is unprecedented.
He said since the release of the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) in May, the economic management team has been working on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) completed in August 2016.
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In his words, “We also developed the Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) for the large spending ministries. These are all inputs in the 2017 budget.”
As part of preparing the 2017 budget, the Federal Government organised a ministerial retreat presided by President Muhammadu Buhari, with the minister saying the idea was to enable extensive consultations on all issues and come up with a comprehensive medium term plan.
“The ideas that are contributed and adopted by each thematic group will be captured in a draft document to be shared in consultation with various groups, including federal and state governments, private sector and development partners,” the minister added.
Mr. Udoma further dismissed notions that the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration did not have an economic agenda, stating that the administration laid out “a clear economic vision and direction in the President’s 2016 Budget speech as well as in the SIP for the 2016 Budget of Change.”
He explained that SIP was anchored on four policy fundamentals: investing in critical infrastructure, embracing the private sector, fostering social inclusion and job creation and improving security and tacking corruption.
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According to him, the fundamental objectives, were prioritized in six thematic areas, namely policy, security and governance; diversification of the economy; power, rail and roads; oil and gas reforms; ease of doing business and social investment, with “many of these are already yielding results.”
He said the comprehensive medium-term plan which is to be launched next month will incorporate the Strategic Implementation Plan.
