Fiscal responsibility central to economic growth- FRC boss

Mariam Abeeb

The Executive Chairman, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Mr Victor Muruako, says good public procurement process and fiscal responsibility are central to sustainable economic growth.
Muruako said this in Abuja while receiving members of the Bauchi State Public Procurement Bureau who were at the Commission on a study visit.
He was represented by Muhammed Zailani, Director of Administration and Human Resources of the commission.
According to him, fiscal responsibility will also lead to improved standard of living, good governance, increased transparency and accountability, and popular participation in the management of the income and expenditure of government.
Muruako said that they would also enhance fiscal discipline, borrowing only when necessary, and promoting efficiency in the economy.
He commended the Bauchi State government for appreciating the need to build on a good foundation, and to consolidate with training from relevant agencies in order to get things right.
“During this study visit, we will take you through the operations of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
“We will expose you to the critical challenges of setting up such a very important agency within a system that obviously recognises the need to do things right.
“This is coming at a time when the national economy is facing huge challenges arising mainly from not setting priorities right at the time it mattered most.
“So, it is important that you pay attention to the classes during this exercise and ensure that you ask questions where necessary,” Muruako said.
He said that the commission was set up to provide for prudent management of the nation’s resources.
The chairman said that the commission also has the mandate to ensure long term macro-economic stability of the national economy.
“It also has to secure greater accountability and transparency in fiscal operations within a medium-term fiscal policy framework.
“The vision is to create an enduring framework for effective and transparent financial management in Nigeria in line with the renewed hope agenda of the Federal Government.
“It is also to reform the management of Nigeria’s public finances through regular monitoring of government financial activities, uncompromising investigation and public reporting, backed by a firm commitment to enforcement,” he said.
He said that the vision defined the commission’s core activities of ensuring value for money in all government transactions through monitoring debts and indebtedness, borrowing, and management of government assets.
Muruako encouraged states to enact fiscal responsibility legislations and establish agencies to ensure effective fiscal operations for the benefit of Nigerians.
He said that the Fiscal Responsibility Act could only apply to any state if the state decided to adopt and domesticate it as its own law.
The chairman urged members of the team from Bauchi to take every step in the studies that they would undergo both in the commission and other agencies very seriously.
The team leader from the Bauchi State Public Procurement Bureau, Babangida Haruna, said that the team was on the study tour of the FRC in preparation for setting up a similar commission in the state.
Haruna said that the state had already domesticated the Fiscal Responsibility Act and was in the process of establishing a commission.
He, however, said that the role of ensuring fiscal responsibility and accountability was presently carried out by some relevant departments in the state’s ministry of finance.