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Budget: Jonathan sends details of amendments to Reps

June 28, 2013 by John Ameh, Abuja

President Goodluck Jonathan 

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday sent the details of his amendment proposals to the 2013 budget to the House of Representatives.
The development came barely 24 hours after the House rejected the amendment bill on the grounds that it was “silent” on the sections of the 2013 Appropriation Act the President wanted the National Assembly to amend.
In a covering letter to the details, Jonathan told the House that there were several cuts in allocations to capital projects he would like the lawmakers to restore.
He also expressed concern over cuts in allocation to personnel costs and the reduction of funds of the Subsidy Re-Investment Programme by N9bn from the original N27bn.
The President wrote, “Against our proposal of N27bn, the National Assembly allocated N9bn. This cut will have the adverse effect of severely undermining our capacity to create the jobs needed for our teeming unemployed youths, women and physically challenged citizens.
“In this regard, I crave your cooperation to restore the SURE-P budget.”
For the Ministry of Works, Jonathan noted that funds allocated to road projects were reduced by the National Assembly.
For example, the President said the allocation to the Abuja-Lokoja Expressway was reduced by N4bn; Kano-Maiduguri road, N3.5bn; and dualisation of the Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway, Section II, N5.5bn.
The letter read further, “Rehabilitation of Jebba Bridge reduced by N1.25bn; rehabilitation of Marine Bridge and Iddo Bridge reduced by N1bn; special intervention fund for emergency roads and bridges washed across the country reduced by N6.28bn; dualisation of Obajana junction to Benin reduced by N4bn, etc.”
Similarly, he said the Ministry of Health had over N14bn slashed from its allocations to various projects.
For the Ministry of Power, the President explained, “A total of N16.3bn was cut from power projects, including the 215MW Kaduna Dual Fire Power Plant, which was reduced by N2.25bn; second Kaduna-Kano 33KV DC lines reduced by N1.5bn; Gombe-Yola-Jalingo 330KV SC line reduced by N0.6bn; Maiduguri 330/132KV sub-station reduced by N0.3bn; Kaduna-Jos 330KV DC Line reduced by N0.5bn; Omotosho-Epe-Ajah 330KV DC line reduced by N0.8bn, etc.”
Jonathan added that the Ministry of Transport was not left out as its allocation was cut by about N7bn.
The President described the affected projects as very vital to the country, appealing to the House to restore the funds.
He also pleaded for the restoration of the cuts in personnel costs to save the nation from a possible industrial crisis should the government fail to meet the payment of workers’ salaries.
Meanwhile, members of the House of Representatives on Thursday disagreed among themselves over the cash-less policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
A motion asking the bank to implement the policy in phases owing to poor infrastructure in the country split the lawmakers.
The lead sponsor of the motion, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, suggested that the policy should be implemented “commensurate to available technical and financial infrastructure at each stage.”
He also suggested that the CBN should remove the charges and limit placed on daily cash withdrawals/deposits to encourage “small businesses and Nigerians.”
But some members like Mr. Emma Jime opposed the motion, arguing that it appeared that the sponsors did not understand the policy.
Jime said, “For goodness sake, this motion is worthless. It is saying that the cash-less policy should be implemented in phases. That is exactly what the CBN is doing in conjunction with other banks.
“There are selected states, including Lagos and Abuja that have been picked for the pilot phase of the implementation. So, what this motion is seeking to achieve is already being addressed.”
He also said Nigerians should not continue to be “afraid of their shadows” by opposing innovative ideas, adding that new policies would always come with challenges.
But, Dogara hinged his argument on the lack of infrastructure and the low literacy level in the country.
“The cash-less policy alienates about 67 per cent of our people and about 78 per cent of our rural population will be excluded,” he said.
The lawmaker noted that going cashless implied that all Nigerians should be Information Communication Technology compliant.
Dogara said, “This policy is for the few people who are knowledgeable in using computers. The government itself has admitted that 120 million Nigerians have no access to electricity.

 

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