States Record 70% In Public Expenditure Reforms â€' NGF

According to the forum: “The action point with the highest percentage of implementation is that of Public Expenditure Reform, which recorded 69% success, the NGFS Economist, Nabena disclosed. Several economists have argued that since most economic activities take place in the states, they might have indirectly assisted the economic recovery that the nation is now celebrating.

“However, Nabena still believes more can be done by states to get the country out of the doldrums. Others with encouraging results according to him were public revenue reforms 63% and 54% for debt management reforms.

“These are laudable goals, according to many economists, but above all it shares a very special affinity with the Open Government Partnership OGP which carries with it huge financial relief for governments that are able to meet its conditions.

“A consultant at the Kaduna Business School concludes that the first point to note is that states are in dire financial straits today because of poor management of fiscal and other resources that occurred in the years preceding the report. Funds meant for development have been stolen outright and laws and policies, where they exist, have been ignored. In some states, there is an absence of good fiscal laws, according to the findings.

“Nabena noted that the purpose of the meeting was to share findings of the 22 core action points of the FSP from the workshop held in April, as well as acquaint the ministry of the plans of the NGF Secretariat going forward”.