FG to publish real-time data on capital projects

The Federal Government on Monday said the implementation of capital projects across the country is significantly higher than the figures often reported in the public domain, promising to launch a more transparent reporting system that will enable Nigerians to track budget performance in real time.

The government also disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had directed the harmonisation of federal projects to improve transparency, coordination and public accountability.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, stated this during a panel session titled, “Reforms in Focus: The Milestones, the Challenges, the Prospects,” at the fifth Nigeria Employers’ Summit in Abuja.

The panel session was also attended by the Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority, Kelechi Ohiri; the Principal Economist and Lead, Economic Transformation and Competitiveness, at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Wilson Erumebor; and the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf.

The minister admitted that the government could do better at implementing the budget but maintained that the narrative of poor execution of capital projects did not fully reflect reality.

He said, “On public finance and budget implementation, especially capital projects, I would agree that we can do much better with our budget, including what we budget for and how we implement it.

“But I can also tell you that budget implementation is far better than what you see and what you hear. Take capital budget implementation for example. Some of it is not properly reported.

“You see, some of the execution of capital projects is done at the agency level. Some of them are landmark and legacy projects, and because of the nature of these projects, the reporting does not come in immediately.”

According to him, the delay in reporting has created a gap between the actual implementation of the project and public perception.

He said the Ministry of Finance was already working on a system to provide a clearer, more transparent picture of government spending and project execution.

“Part of the work we are doing at the Ministry of Finance is to provide this reporting in a way that is clear and transparent. Very soon, you will find that the information will be readily available on the Ministry of Finance website.

“You will see that the percentage of implementation of capital projects is much more than what you read in the newspapers,” he stated.

Oyedele further disclosed that the government was working with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to reform project implementation and consolidate information on federal projects on one platform.

“We are also working with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning on the reforms that we need for projects. Mr President has already given the direction that we should harmonise the projects.

“Having just one platform where you can find everything at once is a lot better for transparency and accountability,” he said.

The minister also defended the government’s rising debt servicing costs, saying the increase was largely driven by higher interest rates adopted to tame inflation.

According to him, many critics fail to appreciate the difficult fiscal trade-offs confronting the government.

“Sometimes when I listen to economists speak on television, I just wish we could balance the narratives much better.

“We know that because of the reforms, we experienced volatility and one of the outcomes was higher inflation. To fight inflation, the monetary authorities had to raise interest rates.

“Many economists commend the Central Bank for increasing interest rates to fight inflation and then turn around to ask why the government is spending so much on debt servicing. How is that supposed to happen?

“The government does not borrow from another planet. Before the reforms, government borrowing costs averaged about eight per cent. After the reforms, they rose to as high as 24 per cent.

“Imagine that we need to borrow additional money and we are paying three times what we paid before. We need more money to pay interest, fund infrastructure and support social programmes.”

He stressed that inflation had also increased the cost of governance, noting that government was spending significantly more to execute the same projects and programmes.

“Inflation is not for the private sector alone; it affects government as well. Government is spending more money to do the same things it did before.

“These are not excuses. These are facts. While we still have so much more to do, we must not disregard the progress that we have made,” he added.

On infrastructure financing, Oyedele said the government was seeking to attract more private sector investment into commercially viable projects, while government resources would be concentrated on social infrastructure that may not generate immediate returns.

“The philosophy we are working with is that any commercially viable infrastructure should attract private sector investment.

“But if you want to build schools in rural communities, those projects may never be commercially viable. Does that mean children in those communities should not go to school? Of course not. Government must focus on those kinds of investments.”

He also identified the power sector as one of the administration’s top priorities, saying fresh conversations were ongoing on how to fundamentally reform the sector and encourage market-based solutions while protecting vulnerable Nigerians.

The government’s defence of its capital budget implementation comes amid growing concerns over the pace of project execution and the widening gap between approved budgets and actual releases.