‘Think outside the box’ Zainab Ahmed tells successor
The incoming minister of finance must think outside the box to come up with solutions to Nigeria’s economic challenges.
Former minister of Finance Budget and National Planning Mrs Zainab Ahmed gave this advice in her valedictory speech in Abuja on Saturday night.
Zainab Ahmed while reviewing the economy under watch said “challenges remain, and it will require continued dedication, resilience, and innovative thinking to address them effectively”.
She said she was bequeathing to her successor a solid foundation to build upon, based on the fact that “our nation’s economic trajectory is positive, and the path ahead is filled with tremendous opportunities”.
Ahmed said the past eight years have been eventful, and defined by the impact of two recessions as a result of “the 2016 oil price collapse and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic”.
Despite these challenges, Zainab Ahmed stated that “swift monetary and fiscal responses facilitated the economy’s prompt recovery from these downturns”.
Highlighting what the ministry did in the last eight years, Zainab said she superintended over the implementation of “far reaching measures to contain the adverse impact of the pandemic on citizens, as well as to resuscitate the economy.
The government she said deployed “various fiscal instruments, such as tax relief measures to alleviate the burden on businesses and vulnerable households”.
“Government adopted various approaches to finance spending, such as budget reallocation, supplementary budgets, draw-down on government savings, and additional borrowings.
“The Ministry implemented notable reforms to support economic recovery and resilience; committed to medium-term revenue and expenditure frameworks to strengthen public finances, created fiscal space, and kept public debt on a sustainable path, revitalized revenue over the medium term which led to improved non-oil revenue under the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI).
Under her watch, “government consistently met its debt service commitments, while post financing assessments showed adequate capacity to repay loans” she said.
To consolidate the fiscal space, Zainab Ahmed said she and her team streamlined new taxes and intensified expenditure control measures, “with resolute commitment to advancing expenditure rationalization initiatives”.
“Additionally, there were Executive Orders on Promoting Procurement by Government Agencies; and the Promotion of Transparency and Efficiency in the Business Environment.
Economic diversification she noted “remained a key priority for Nigeria. Consequently, our development plans encompassed initiatives for developing supportive infrastructure and reforms aimed at reducing dependency on oil, alleviating inequality and unemployment, establishing robust and effective institutions, and addressing governance issues”.
