7
Commendable and Remarkable Achievements of the Ministries of Finance
and Petroleum Resources Under Goodluck Jonathan by CHINEDU NNARH
It is common knowledge that the outgoing Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration has not lived up to the lofty expectations thrust on it upon its inauguration in 2011, and the federal ministries of Finance and Petroleum Resources have often been singled out for intense criticisms. Though they could have achieved a lot more than they were able to muster, the ministries headed by the under-fire duo of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Diezani Alison-Madueke — the two most powerful, most popular and most maligned members of President Jonathan's cabinet — cannot be dismissed as utter failures. Below is a compilation of 7 laudable achievements that were recorded in the pivotal ministries under President Jonathan. 1. The Rebasing of the National GDP: During Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala's tenure as the finance minister, Nigeria's GDP was successfully rebased for the first time in 24 years. This commendable effort not only made Nigeria Africa's largest economy, but it also kept us on course to breeze into the exclusive and elusive club of the world's 20 largest economies by 2020. The only (and major) downside of this achievement, however, was its failure to trickle down to the average Nigerian. By rebasing our Gross Domestic Product, the economy merely expanded on the basis of the increasing population figures of the country and not due to its increased productivity. In essence, what we got was an economic growth without an economic development. | ||
Photo: Man arrested for stealing N4.6m from his employersPhotos: Policemen caught on camera taking a dump in the water
2. Partial Fuel Subsidy Removal
The decision of the Goodluck Jonathan Presidency to withdraw the subsidy paid on crude oil and natural gas products was a brilliant one, but its timing was extremely ill-advised, hence the massive protests that greeted its announcement in 2012. Fuel subsidy is a price manipulation technique employed by the government to fix the pump price of petroleum products at certain amounts, irrespective of their actual market prices, in order to make them affordable for the average Nigerian. To compensate the retailers for their losses, the government pays them the difference between the fixed prices of the products and their actual prices as determined by market forces. Needless to say, this subsidy regime is not sustainable and it goes against the principles of capitalism which Nigeria practices. If fully implemented, the removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria will free up as much as $6 billion per annum, a sum that can be channelled into other sectors of the economy. But, the downsides of a rushed total fuel subsidy removal are numerous: an immediate spike in the pump price of petroleum products, transport fares and foodstuff; an increased spate of layoffs and business closures due to a rising cost of production; rising unemployment; an attendant deterioration in the standard of living of the average Nigerian; and civil unrest. | ||
3. Creation of Sure-P and Related Programmes
The Subsidy Re-investment Programme (SURE-P), Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS), Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria (YOUWIN), Community Service Scheme (CSS), National Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and Growing Girls and Women in Nigeria (GWIN) were some of the palliative programmes created by the federal government in response to the partial fuel subsidy removal of 2012. Together, these collaborations between the Federal Ministry of Finance and other federal ministries, parastatals and agencies have yielded almost 2 million direct, indirect and temporary jobs across the country. | ||
The
thunder wey go strike person wey write ds article stil dey gym..the
only notable achievement as far as I am concerned is "Enriching
themselves". All these so called achievements are means through which
these women have used to scam Nigerians and enrich themselves.
| ||
And dey kip shouting change
Hope we don't regret voting transformation out of power I hate "change" | ||
4. Introduction of the Cashless Policy
The finance ministry through the Central Bank of Nigeria shot the Nigerian banking industry into the 21st century with its introduction of the electronic banking system, popularly known as the cashless policy. The cashless policy — which seeks to reduce the volume of paper currency in circulation — has not only helped to significantly improve the ease of banking and doing business in the country, but it has also helped to significantly reduce the ease of money laundering, the cost of printing new naira notes and armed robbery, among others. Photo: Man arrested for stealing N4.6m from his employersPhotos: Policemen caught on camera taking a dump in the water | ||
5. Establishment of Nigeria's Sovereign Investment Authority
Nigeria's long overdue sovereign wealth fund was finally established in 2011 by the federal government and it is being spearheaded by finance and petroleum resources ministries. The International Monetary Fund defines SWF as "special purpose investment funds or arrangements, owned by the general government." A 2015 report released by Linaburg-Maduell ranked the NSIA as the second most transparent sovereign authority in the world in the year 2014. Fifty-one global sovereign wealth authorities were surveyed and it's the only African sovereign wealth authority to be so ranked. | ||
6. The Hosting of the World Economic Forum on Africa
In 2014, Nigeria became only the second country in sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa) to host the World Economic Forum on Africa. The WEFA is an apex regional economic summit organized by the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum which brings together Africa's best brains in journalism, business, academics and politics to deliberate on the continent's most pressing socioeconomic issues. Official estimates by its managing director, Dr. Philipp Rosler, revealed that the 2014 WEFA attracted nearly $70 billion worth of investments to the continent and reached a global audience of about 2.1 billion people, mostly through the social media. | ||
7. Nigeria Produced the First-ever female OPEC President
Nigeria's first female petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, made history when she was elected to serve as the first female president of the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2014. Unfortunately, she (and consequently, Nigeria) will likely lose this position on May 20 when the present cabinet will be dissolved and she's not likely to be recalled by the incoming Muhammadu Buhari administration. |
Tuesday 5 May 2015
7 Notable Achievements Of Okonjo-iweala And Alison-madueke In The Ministries - Politics
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