Once the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) crisis passes, the federal government said its focus will be on medium-term macroeconomic stability.
Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed made this disclosure on the ministry’s tweeter handle on Thursday.
According to her, government’s desire to focus on medium-term macroeconomic stability is hinged on its resolve to continue with revenue-based fiscal consolidation.
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 that “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.”