Centre for Social Justice has said that a total of $822 million is the amount available to the federal government in its cash transfer programme. In a report of the meeting it had with the National Social Investment Office it said “All the money paid out so far has come from funds received through appropriation. “However, Nigeria signed a loan $500 million agreement with the World Bank for Conditional Cash Transfer Programme (CCTP) which will be starting this month, July 2018. Another sum of $322.5m will also be available from the proceeds of the returned Abacha Loot bringing the total to $822m.
“The Abacha Loot was channeled to the CTS due to the fact that the Swiss authorities who were repatriating the loot insisted on the oversight and monitoring role of the World Bank. The World Bank on its part insisted that the monitoring role had to align with existing World Bank projects, to ensure that they do not incur additional costs since they were already involved in a cash transfer scheme. The Federal Government selected the programme, out of various World Bank projects, and the World Bank agreed to engage with the role assigned to it since no new monitoring mechanism will be required or additional costs for the monitoring.
“So far, the NSIO is only doing cash transfer and not CCTP. For payments, the NSIO uses payment service providers, currently four in number. The payment is N5,000 a month but paid as N10,000 every two months. The payment service providers go to the communities for a period of ten days. And in the event they do not meet the recipient, money is held for the family for three payment circles which is 6 months before they payment is stopped. Each family, apart from nominating a recipient also nominates an alternate in the event the recipient is not available. Action Aid coordinates the civil society monitoring team.
“The process for the selection of beneficiaries is not arbitrary. It has inbuilt mechanisms to avoid abuse. Only persons who fall within the selection threshold/criteria are paid. First, there is a process for the compilation of a Social Register. The NSIO collaborates with the states through their focal person and coordinating unit domiciled in the respective Ministries of Planning. A memorandum of understanding is signed with every state. There is an existing National Living Standards Survey which gives information about poverty and living standards across the Federation. The NSIO team goes into the field focusing on the poorest 30 per cent in each state they are working in. Household and other relevant data is collected, analysed and verified through a process involving inter alia focused group discussions with groups such as women, youths, men and community leaders.
“Also, a check list has been developed which captures essential points that speak to poverty. The checklist involves a proxy means test in terms of ownership of assets, sources of income and access to services by the families that have been recommended as falling within the threshold. In the process, the first six decile is selected which represents the poorest of the poor. This process leads to the compilation of a Social Register in the state which will be used to determine those who are eligible and fall within the threshold required for disbursements. The Social Register is also used for other social interventions apart from the CTS. The Social Register contains bio data details, finger prints, photograph, etc. of persons who are to receive payments on behalf of families.
“The NSIO insists that state governors or senior government officials do not hijack the scheme in terms of nominating unqualified beneficiaries. Even the membership of state coordinating units is vetted to ensure that they are properly qualified and experienced and are not relatives of top government officials. Another level of review and verification is then done by the payment section of the NSIO to ensure that those on the Social Register and recommended as beneficiaries are actually qualified to receive payment. Sometimes, in the process of this second level of verification, families who were apparently qualified in the first phase of the recommendation may be disqualified if the information provided is found to be false.
“The payment targets families rather than individuals because the recipients are expected to use the payment to lift their families from poverty. Those who qualify after this second level of verification get paid. It is imperative to clarify that not everyone on the Social Register gets paid but the selection of the beneficiaries is from the Register. Some states had started the groundwork process of cash transfer before the commencement of the current federal programme. The states include Bauchi, Kogi, Osun, Niger, Kwara, Cross River and Oyo; they had signed direct agreements with the World Bank. Thus, they were the first to start benefiting considering that they were already ahead of other states when the process started. The payments are not done on the basis of federal character; it is about the individuals and families meeting the threshold criteria”.
