The national workshop on sources and procurement of foreign exchange ended on Thursday with a call on the federal government to come up with budget statements in October each year to enable an easy and full implementation of budgets in the country.
Making the call, the group managing director of public finance and management consulting group, Mr. Paul Erihri said there are always lapses and time lag between budget announcement and actual implementation thus making budget dreams and hopes unfulfilled and unrealised throughout the country.
According to him, experience has shown that release of warrant authorising expenditure by all levels of government in the federation begins in March thus leaving 9 months for the implementation of the budget. Most of the time, policies enunciated in budget speeches are not worked out in details. This, Mr. Erihri contends leaves a time lag n waiting for details to be worked out.
Mr. Erihri further said that if budgets are announced in October, it will give room for he budget implementation to actually takeoff in January after the details would have been worked out between October and December.
According to findings of the 3-day workshop commercial banks have not done much to promote commercial ventures in the country. Banks have been involved in research and development. The workshop also identify viable commercial and productive ventures that could be financed through foreign loans. Such ventures include garvanised wire and nail, canned foods, paper recycling ventures, etc.
According to the workshop, foreign loan per se is not bad but to what use it put. Loans contracted from foreign sources if put into productive use is capable of liquidating itself but if such loans are diverted to unproductive use is capable of liquidating itself but if such loans are diverted to unproductive use it becomes a national burden.
The workshop also discovered that most state governments in the federation are not aware of the generous aid Japan provides to developing countries which Nigeria recently qualified for.
