CISLAC recommends pro-poor economic agenda for incoming administration
NEWS DIGEST – The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, has established that it is the goal of any rational government to improve the living conditions of its populace through appropriate and effective macro-economic policies.
CISLAC’s Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said this on Tuesday at a media interactive session on the margins of the ongoing 2023 Spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, USA.
He addressed the economic crisis in Nigeria and recommended a robust agenda for the incoming administration.
He argued that good policies should be technically sound, widely acceptable, and administratively feasible to achieve and sustain its macro-economic objectives.
“Nigeria, like many developing economies, has however suffered huge but reconcilable fiscal, monetary, and trade deficits. If only it acts now…”
He added that fiscal, monetary, and trade policies in Nigeria are characterised by profligacy, delayed implementation of key reforms, and poor financial framework strengthened by mismanagement of monumental oil revenue, all pose a threat to the macro-economic stability of the country.
According to Mr. Rafsanjani, the Nigerian economy rebounded after the difficult years of COVID-19, the recovery has wrought more hardship on Nigerians, and socio-economic conditions in Nigeria have been on a steady decline ever since.
He then advised the incoming administration to spark conversations around the right economic policy choices as doing that would have a significant impact on the country’s economic profile.
“We hope to review these policies and plans with respect to their short and long-term objectives for sustainable growth and development; and the stabilization of the economy in response to sudden and unpredictable economic shocks using key indicators of economic performance like inflation as a measure of price stability, unemployment, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of economic growth and import and export as a measure of balance of payments,” he said.
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Among the economic frameworks suggested by the Director are: Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), which was noted to have helped Nigeria exit recession in record time with more than 5 percent growth in the economy, saved over one million jobs, and forestalled the closure of over 150,000 small businesses hit by COVID-19; and National Development Plan (NDP) (2021-2025) which was expected to succeed the Nigeria Vision 20:2020 Economic Transformation Blueprint.
Fiscal Profile, Revenue Mobilization, Unsustainable Debts, Monetary Policy Inconsistencies are also part of the economic frameworks suggested by Mr. Rafsanjani.
He, therefore made recommendations for revitalising the economy, adding that the Nigerian economy must at least grow at 7-8 per cent a year for five to ten years based on an investment-led strategy to avoid the possibility of multi-dimensional poverty, debt, and insecurity consuming the country in the next decade.
“The incoming government needs to sustain strategic policies with the potential of driving economic growth and development,” he emphasized.
He added that there is a need for the incoming government to restructure the tax system, enlarge the tax base, and eliminate harmful tax expenditures (waivers, reduced rates, special deductions, and tax credits).
Among other recommendations made were: Boost of Government revenue generation and improve intertemporal budget constraints; Reduction in reliance on borrowings from the international capital market or commercial loans; Strengthening of the Foreign Exchange Policy; Improvement in public borrowing transparency and accountability; Establishment of an independent committee that comprises Civil Society representatives; Adherence strictly to regulatory and legal frameworks; Effective implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act; drive investment in the agricultural sector; uring, starting with improving the business climate and macroeconomic stability; strengthening ease of doing business and block leakages for corruption.
Mr. Rafsanjani then called on Nigerians around the world to join their voices in calling on the incoming government for the sincerity of purpose in the prioritization of planning, formulation, and implementation of policies and programmes that would drive inclusive and sustainable growth and development for Nigeria, Africa, and the World by extension.
