Private Sector Needed for Budget Performance – FG

The Federal Government has said that the budget can only perform at an appreciable level that will trigger sustainable infrastructural development if the private sector is provided with an enabling environment to thrive.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, stated this in an address he delivered at the High-Level Stakeholder Retreat on Public Private Partnership which ended in Uyo at the weekend.

In the address, which was made available to our correspondent in Abuja, the SGF, who was represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Office, SGF office, Gabriel Aduda, stated that Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit was a huge constraint to economic growth and the ease of doing business in the country, stressing that the World Economic Forum ranked Nigeria in the 132nd position out of 138 countries on its overall infrastructure quality in 2016.

He also said that fixing the infrastructural deficit in the country would require an injection of $1.44tn into the economy by the private sector.

He said, “Given the scale of the challenge, it is widely recognised that the human and financial resources required to address this deficit will require significant private sector’s participation to augment government’s annual budgetary allocation.

“In this regard, the National Integrated Infrastructure Master plan estimates that 48 per cent of the $3tn required to address Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit will come from the private sector. However, much more needs to be done to engender the private sector’s interest and confidence required to deliver the much needed levels of investment.

“There can be no doubt that the composition, transparency and predictability of Nigeria’s Infrastructure Delivery Framework will either be a hindrance or an enabler to attracting and harnessing the private sector’s engagement in the financing, delivery and management of critical public-sector infrastructure. Despite recent momentum, it is presently seen by most as a major constraint.”

While stating that part of the mandate of the retreat was to address the challenge, the Federal Government, however, said efforts had been made by the current administration to fix some of the identified constraints.