Senate in a fix on $5 billion loan request

WHAT the IMF has just stated could have been written by a second year student of Economics in any good university in the world. But, curiously, it is a lesson which has not found its way to Abuja, the Federal Executive Council weekly meetings and to Aso Rock. At the moment there is an urgent request from President Buhari in the Senate for the approval of a  $5  billion loan package. 

Depending on which exchange rate one adopts, from N315 to N360 per US dollar, the request runs from N1.575 trillion to N1.8 trillion. Given the 2017 budget of N7.2 trillion, the additional loan alone constitutes between 22 and 25 per cent of the year’s budget. Currently, the nation is sitting on N19 trillion cumulative debts which represent two and a half times this year’s budget and on which close to 28 per cent of this year’s revenue will be spent. In fact debt repayment is the largest single item on our recurrent expenditure. Nigerians are virtually working to keep lenders happy while funds “for the objectives of economic growth and recovery programme” are lacking. 

Earlier this year, the Buhari administration launched the Economic Recovery and Growth Programme, ERGP, designed to fast track economic growth. As we approach the end of the tenth month of this year, the ERGP remains a statement of good intentions with no cash backing. Growth is stifled because, frankly speaking, the Federal Government is broke. Statement of good intentions 

The FG has virtually run out of money to fund major projects; to halt deterioration of infrastructure and to close the widening infrastructure gap. Obviously, the need for funds has never been more urgent despite the dangers ahead to which the IMF is pointing our attention. Under the circumstances the obvious question is: what should be the Senate’s response to the request? That loan request must be approved is inevitable; otherwise government will crawl to a dead stop. But, while loan approval is unavoidable, the amount approved and the projects to be financed with the debt and the plans for repayment need to be negotiated properly. A blank cheque authorizing expenditure of  $5  billion as the FG wishes will not do. 

Already, with less than 20 per cent of this year’s capital expenditure to be released by December 31, most projects on the budget will not be funded this year. Even the extension of the 2017 budget to next year will not save all the projects in the budget. Some will still be axed. 

Equity demands that all the zones of Nigeria are equally treated in this regard. It will certainly be unacceptable if some zones get all their funding while others suffer disproportionately. The appropriate approach to solving this problem is for the Senate to insist that the FG should prioritise those projects which when funded from loans will be self-liquidating. In other words, fund from loans only those projects that will repay the loans – not populist give-away programmes that will only drain more of the meager financial resources available to government. Second, the Senate should ensure that the projects cover all the six zones of Nigeria without favour to one region since all Nigerians will repay the loan directly or indirectly. 

Third, they should obtain an undertaking from the FG that there will be no alteration to the list of projects to be funded without recourse to the NASS; and there should be no virement under any circumstances after the approval. Then the Senate should quickly grant the request for the most obvious reason. Although, by granting the request the Senate would have raised Nigeria’s debt ceiling without a public hearing regarding its short and long term implications. Withholding consent will bring the government to a halt before the end of the year. And no nation can afford having a government shut down on account of funds to operate. 

The FG and its Economic Management Team had committed a blunder by not foreseeing early enough the fact that aggregate revenue from all sources was lagging far behind budget right from January and continued every month except July. By August, it was clear to financial analysts that Nigeria was heading for trouble as the nation’s “Cash Cow”, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, racked up operational losses virtually every month. The IMF and World Bank had separately pointed out this fact which our leaders wanted to hide from us. 

They can hide no more. We desperately need the loan.

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/10/senate-fix-5-billion-loan-request/

Olu Ojedokun comments on Las Vegas Massacre

– Learn To Use Cutlery In A Formal Dinner

You don’t have to turn down that formal dinner invitation. Simply take time to learn these skills and you will have fun once you’re confident and doing everything correctly at the dinner.

1. Utensil placement

Basically, you should follow the utensil placement in order from the farthest from the plate and work your way inward. Forks to the left, with the salad fork first, then dinner fork beside the plate. On the right side, you will find the knife, appetizer, spoon, soup spoon and oyster fork. The knife blades are usually placed with the cutting sides closest to the plates. You should also know that not all formal dinner will have all these flatware mentioned.

If you’re ever in doubt about which fork to use, follow the lead of the host. It will be polite as long as you don’t make it obvious or embarrass the host.

2. Eating techniques

Knowing how t eat with the utensils is important in a formal dinner if you want to appear savvy. Put the fork in the hand you use for eating or writing. British cut meat by lifting the meat to their mouth with the fork in the hand that is not normally used. This method saves the switching of hands each time you want to cut the meat like the Americans do.

You Should Read This:   11 Healthy Breakfast Ideas For People With Diabetes

Cutlery usage

For eating soup, you should use the larger oval or bowl-shaped spoon. Make sure the soup bowl is firmly placed on the table. Scoop from the center of the bowl. Bring the spoon to your mouth and tilt it while sipping soup from the edge. You should not make a slurping noise when eating soup.

3. Don’t call attention to yourself on the table

So many people ask if it is Ok to eat chicken or pork chops with your hands. This could be acceptable in informal gatherings, but for a formal dinner, you should always use your fork. Also, don’t use your utensils to gesture.

When drinking water, tea, wine or other beverage, put down your utensils before picking up the glass or cup. After each using each utensil, place it on the edge of your plate, not in the lineup.

If you, however, make a mistake, most people won’t know as long as you don’t call it to their attention.

Olu Ojedokun being interviewed by Ayanfe Famubode on Nigeria's independe...