FG
Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, has unveiled a document, the 2017 Fiscal Road map, which is aimed at pulling Nigeria out of recession.
Kemi Adeosun
Here are the propositions in the document:
1. Recognise inherited debt profile after a robust audit process:
- Introduce promissory note programme to finance verified liabilities
- Issue debt certificates to contractors, Ministries, Departments & Agencies (MDAs), and State overnments
- Improve cash flow of businesses
- Improve Banks’ Non-Performing Loans (NPLs)
- Free up Banks’ balance sheet for lending to private sector
- Improve government’s business interaction with the private sector
2. Mobilise private capital to complement Government spending on infrastructure:
- Roads Trust Fund
- Family Homes Fund
- Extend infrastructure tax relief to a collective model to attract clusters of corporate entities
- Expand the provision of infrastructure
- Drive growth of non-oil sector.
- Drive economic growth
3. Strengthen fiscal/monetary handshake:
- Replace administrative measures on list of 41-items with fiscal measures to reduce demand pressure in parallel market
- Encourage domestic food production through specific incentives e.g. accelerated depreciation on food manufacturing equipment and Zero (0%) duty on green houses
- Planned revitalisation of refineries
- Increase Diaspora remittances via participation in the buyer support scheme for the Family Homes Fund
- Reduce demand for US Dollars
- Increase supply of US Dollars
4. Incentivise exports:
- Restructure the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) to a tax credit system
- Rationalise tariffs and waivers in key export sectors
- Encourage/incentivise non-oil exports
- Drive import substitution
5. Encourage investment in specific sectors through fiscal incentives:
- Accelerated depreciation on equipment in strategic sectors e.g. food processing, mining and power
- Rationalise tariffs and waivers in priority sectors
- Drive investment in strategic sectors
6. Continue expansion of fiscal space through revenue enhancement and cost consolidation:
- Customs Single Window (being implemented through a Private Public Partnership (PPP) scheme)
- Template for non-allowable expenses for government agencies.
- Overhead cost control by the Efficiency Unit
- Continuous risk based audit by the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit
- Revenue enhancement
- Cost containment
7. Improve fiscal discipline at Sub-National level:
- Extension of efficiency unit at Sub-National level
- Fast track municipal bond issues to deepen the bond market
- Conversion to International Public Sector Accounting Standards by all State Governments.
- Improved fiscal position at Sub-National level
8. Enable and accelerate Recoveries process:
- Whistle-blower scheme
- Centralised database on recovered assets
- Asset tracing
- Professional management of recovered assets
- Increased efficiency of Recoveries process
- Increased budgetary funding availability from Recoveries
9. Rebalance debt portfolio to extend maturity and optimise debt service cost:
- Rebalance public debt portfolio with increased external borrowing (60:40 target)
- Extend maturity profile of public debt portfolio
- Deploy long-term debt instruments including Infrastructure and Retail Bonds
- Maximise use of concessionary loans
- Rebalanced debt profile withimproved debt service to revenue ratio
10. Catalyse Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) growth through specific measures to improve capacity and access to finance:
- Development Bank of Nigeria (US$1.3bn)
- Increase share of business awarded to MSMEs from Government contracts
- Tax harmonisation and tax incentives
- Accelerated depreciation
