Reps urge Jonathan to check govts’ borrowings
On March 28, 2012 · In News
BY BEN AGANDE
ABUJA—Worried by the non-implementation of some provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 by the executive arm of government, the House of Representatives, yesterday, passed a motion urging President Goodluck Jonathan to implement provisions of the Act within 60 days.
Adopting a motion brought by the Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, the House noted that the non-implementation of Section 42 of the Act was capable of encouraging profligacy in government.
Section 42 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 provides for the President to set overall limits for the amounts of consolidated debt of the federal and state governments pursuant to the provisions of item 7 and 50 of Part 1 of the second schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended) subject to approval of the National Assembly.
Gbajabiamila, in the motion, titled “Implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and Fixing of Debt Ceiling for the Federation”, said the non-implementation of Section 42 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 was capable of encouraging recklessness in government borrowings and improper utilisation of borrowed funds to the detriment of the country’s economic growth.
According to him, the President has failed to comply with the provisions of section 42, whose intent was “to enable us live within our means and only engage in prudent and responsible borrowing when necessary.
“If the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 are not implemented, the good aims, objectives and the intentions of the Section will be rendered nugatory,” he opined.
In another development, the House also directed its Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity to investigate and ascertain the performance or otherwise of the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in relation to the present unethical casualization policy of Nigerian workers by some companies in the country and report back to within four weeks.
This followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Yusuf Tajudeen on the need to protect Nigerians from unethical casualization policy by Asian-owned firms in the country.
