… expects N2.17tn from government enterprises
The Federal Government says it would sanction revenue-generating ministries, departments, and agencies for failure to meet their revenue targets for 2021.
While presenting the 2021 FGN Approved Budget on Tuesday, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, said the 60 government-owned enterprises (GOEs) were expected to generate N2.17tn for the government this year.
She expressed worry over the poor performance of most government agencies in revenue generation.
According to her, the ministry is introducing initiatives to ensure that government enterprises optimise their operations, increase revenue collection, and manage their resources.
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She said, “To enhance independent revenue collection, the government will aim to optimise the operational and collection efficiencies of government-owned enterprises with a view to their generating significantly higher revenue and controlling expenditures more tightly.
“Current sub-optimal revenue performance of most GOEs will be addressed through the effective implementation of the enhanced performance management framework, including possible sanctions should they default on their targets.”
She explained that the government agencies were expected to make a progress report on their revenue and expenditure performance to the budget Office and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
Ahmed said, “The cost-to-revenue ratio of GOEs has by Finance Act 2020, been limited to a maximum of 50 percent while regular monitoring and reporting of revenue and expenditure performance of GOEs will be undertaken by both the Budget Office of the Federation and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.”
She said other initiatives to improve revenue generation as enhancement of the existing revenue stream and creation of new ones; cohesion in the revenue ecosystem; and sustainability in revenue generation.
She said the budget deficit of N5.6tn, representing 3.93 percent of the country’s GDP would be financed from domestic, foreign sources as well as multilateral or bilateral loans.
