Macroeconomic stability, FG focus post COVID -19 crisis, says Finance Minster

Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed has revealed that once the coronavirus pandemic crisis is over, the focus of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) will be medium-term macroeconomic stability.

The Minister who made this known on the ministry’s tweeter handle on Thursday, stressed that government’s desire to focus on medium-term macroeconomic stability was hinged on its resolve to continue with revenue-based fiscal consolidation.

According to her, what this means is that government will redouble its drive for revenue generation through vigorous tax administration and collection among other recent generating measures.

This she said is “essential to keep Nigeria’s debt sustainable and create fiscal space for priority spending.”

She also noted that the “implementation of reform priorities under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), particularly on power and governance, remains crucial to boost growth over the medium term.”

Speaking on the recent $3.4billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved facility, she said “the emergency financing under RFI by the IMF will provide much needed liquidity support to respond to our needs.”

She reiterated: “additional assistance from development partners will be required to support the government’s efforts and close the large financing gap.”

Some of the development partners are the World Bank, Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the Islamic Development Bank.

The implementation of proper governance arrangements, like the publication and independent audit of crisis-mitigating spending and procurement processes she explained “are crucial to ensure emergency funds are used for their intended purposes.”