The N500bn social welfare schemes
The Federal Government has earmarked N500 billion in the 2016 budget for social welfare intervention programs. The proposed intervention is part of Medium Term Expenditure Framework for 2016, 2017 and 2018 and Fiscal Strategy Paper forwarded to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari last week. The Assembly has already approved the two papers. The intervention programs will cover the areas of school feeding, conditional cash transfer to vulnerable persons and a post-NYSC grant.
The President said in the paper that “N500 billion has been provided in the
2016 budget as social investment for those programs. The interventions will
start as a pilot scheme and work towards securing the support of donor agencies
and our development partners in order to minimise potential risks.” The
President and the ruling APC deserve commendation for trying to make real one
of their major campaign promises. This is an improvement over the past, when
major campaign promises never saw the light of day after politicians hoodwinked
voters to deliver their votes. The Buhari regime is eager to make up for lost
time but Care must be taken in the choice and planning of these complicated
social programs.
It is important that government presents to Nigerians a detailed plan on how these welfare programs will be operated, where the funding will come from in view of dwindling government revenues, as well as the agencies and persons that will manage these programs. It is also important to know how long the programs will last and when the pilot scheme will be expanded to cover the whole nation.
While the three target areas identified by the government are all social areas crying for intervention, all three also promise to be controversial and could be bogged down in problems of implementation unless they are very carefully planned and executed. For example, the school feeding program could increase school enrolment and retention. It is however doubtful if this is the biggest challenge confronting schools in the country. Problems such as poor quality teachers, low morale of teachers occasioned by poor and epileptic pay, dearth of furniture and teaching aids in schools etc are more serious challenges in the sector. Even if school feeding leads to high retention of pupils, what is the end result if teachers are poorly paid or not paid at all for months?
It is important that government presents to Nigerians a detailed plan on how these welfare programs will be operated, where the funding will come from in view of dwindling government revenues, as well as the agencies and persons that will manage these programs. It is also important to know how long the programs will last and when the pilot scheme will be expanded to cover the whole nation.
While the three target areas identified by the government are all social areas crying for intervention, all three also promise to be controversial and could be bogged down in problems of implementation unless they are very carefully planned and executed. For example, the school feeding program could increase school enrolment and retention. It is however doubtful if this is the biggest challenge confronting schools in the country. Problems such as poor quality teachers, low morale of teachers occasioned by poor and epileptic pay, dearth of furniture and teaching aids in schools etc are more serious challenges in the sector. Even if school feeding leads to high retention of pupils, what is the end result if teachers are poorly paid or not paid at all for months?
For
the full story, check the Daily Trust newspaper.
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