Ahmed: FG Deserves Value for Money on Infrastructure Investment

By Ndubuisi Francis

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed has stated that the federal government’s huge public investment in infrastructure requires a management system and structure that ensure that it gets value for money spent.

To actualise this, the minister advocated the setting up of public investment management units.

She explained that the task of strengthening public investment would become easier with commitment, loyalty and collaboration between the National Assembly and her ministry.

Speaking at a two-day retreat organised by the Budget Office of the Federation (BoF) in collaboration with the National Assembly Appropriation Committee on the Budget Process with focus on strengthening public investment management (PIM), Ahmed put into context, public investment management and why the federal government needed to increase its borrowing.

The minister noted that recognising the importance of capital projects, from his first day in office, President Muhammadu Buhari prioritised infrastructure provision and upgrade by ensuring that resources were adequately mobilised to actualise their provision.

She said: “In a developing economy such as ours, the provision of infrastructure is usually a cardinal objective. This is mainly due to the multiplier effect of the provision of roads, rails, schools, hospitals, etc. on the growth and development of the economy.”

According to Ahmed, engaging in such huge public investment in infrastructure therefore requires a management system and structure that will ensure that government gets value for money spent hence the need to set up public investment management units.

Ahmed stated: “This is even very compelling given that government has had to increase its borrowing to fund these public investments in infrastructure owing to revenue challenges. Thus, because public investment refers to government’s spending on infrastructure, its management literally means the process of handling expenditures to ensure that government gets value for its investments.”

On the benefits of strengthening public investment management system, she said Nigeria stands to achieve key specific gains.

According to her, strengthening PIM processes and integrating them in the legal framework will reduce infrastructure deficit that has impaired the growth and development of the nation, increase transparency in the project appraisal and selection stage, develop practical tools and information technology (IT) systems for managing public investment such as project concept and pre-screening templates, and instituting independent reviews to appraise large projects; and strengthen the core functions and capacity of PIM units.

Others are strengthen coordination between these units and key stakeholders such as finance and planning, and continue to develop the units’ skills to undertake or evaluate project appraisals.

On the relationship between the legislature and the executive in order to ensure adequate PIM system, Ahmed argued that to have a strong public investment management system that will help reduce infrastructure deficit, deepen public finance management reforms and assist in achieving the goals of the nation’s medium to long-term development plans, the executive and the legislature must perform their separate roles effectively while also collaborating to ensure overall success.