13 things NGO’s need to know about the 2016 budget from the President’s Speech

By Oyebisi Babatunde Oluseyi, Executive Director, Nigeria Network of NGOs.

Just some few weeks of sleep or sleepless nights until the 2016 budget is passed, however from the President’s speech we have gotten a firmer picture of what the Federal Government has planned for the next 12 months in 2016.

 

While we are working on accessing the budget itself with the hope of publishing a more analytical piece, here are 13 things Non Government Organisations (NGOs) in Nigeria need to know about the 2016 budget from the President’s speech.

 

1.    In what is becoming a cliché, the President stated that “our problems are not beyond us’’ and spoke about how the solution lies in, ‘our farmlands, our corporations, in the universities, in the hearts and minds of our entrepreneurs; through the gallantry of our Armed Forces; and the resolute spirit of Nigerians’, indicating that the Federal Government (FG) is giving priority to agriculture, education, entrepreneurship (job creation) and security.

 

Nigerian NGOs and coalitions working in the areas of agriculture, education, entrepreneurship and security will need to up their game in providing the government with needed intelligence, evidence based data and model projects and programmes that the government can scale up in these sectors of the economy.

 

2.    The Federal Government is ready to tackle corruption head on and is not relenting in its efforts to rid Nigeria of corruption. NGOs working on good governance should expect ‘many more initiatives’ coming from the FG in fighting corruption. It is imperative that NGOs working on good governance support government’s efforts in the review of any new anti-corruption initiative and also engage with anti-corruption agencies on how best citizens and citizen organisations can support government’s anti-corruption plans.

 

3.    The Federal Government has adopted a zero budgeting system. Wikipedia explains zero budgeting thus: Zero-based budgeting is an approach to planning and decision-making that reverses the working process of traditional budgeting. In traditional incremental budgeting, departmental managers justify only variances versus past years based on the assumption that the “baseline” is automatically approved. By contrast, in zero-based budgeting, every line item of the budget, rather than only the changes, must be approved. Zero-based budgeting requires that the budget request be re-evaluated thoroughly, starting from the zero-base; this involves preparation of a fresh budget every year without reference to the past. This process is independent of whether the total budget or specific line items are increasing or decreasing.

 

NGOs working on budget monitoring will need to build new capacity if needed in understanding how the zero based budgeting process works and what this means for their work and how it helps in balancing FG budgets. NGOs working on public procurement will also have to step in, since this system might open up new challenges in the areas of contract inflation and over pricing.

 

4.    Cooperative societies will be the platform through which the FG aims to support (through loans) and train market women, traders and artisans in partnership with State and Local Governments. Cooperative based NGOs especially have an important role to play in monitoring and shaping how these loans and training’s are delivered.

 

5.    Social protection is an integral part of the 2016 budget and will be implemented in phases. A full social protection programme will be launched soon and will include, ‘conditional grant transfers to the poor and vulnerable, home-grown public primary school feeding and free education for science, technology and education students in our tertiary institutions.’

 

This is an important area of work for NGOs working on social protection, poverty reduction, child nutrition, education and health including organisations working on anti-corruption, public procurement to monitor implementation of the social protection programme.

 

6.    “Compilation of registers of the poorest persons is ongoing’’ indicates the President in his speech. All NGOs must ask questions here when did this start? How is it being implemented? What data is being used? What is the definition of the poor and vulnerable? Which agency of the government is handling the registration? These and many more questions need to be asked with a view to strengthen the system and ensure that the poorest and vulnerable in our society are truly the ones registered.

 

7.    The 2016 budget proposal is ‘N6.08 trillion with a revenue projection of N3.86 trillion resulting in a deficit of N2.22 trillion’.  ‘Deficit will be financed by a combination of domestic borrowing of N984 billion, and foreign borrowing of N900 billion totalling N1.84 trillion.’

 

The expertise of NGOs working on the economy is needed here to inform the National Assembly and Government on the implications of this for our future and our debt profile as a country.

 

8.    Domestic resource mobilisation for the budget will come from ‘oil related revenues’, which is expected to contribute N820 billion. Non-oil revenues, comprising Company Income Tax (CIT), Value Added Tax (VAT), Customs and Excise duties, and Federation Account levies, will contribute N1.45 trillion. Finally, by enforcing strict compliance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 and public expenditure reforms in all MDAs, we have projected up to N1.51 trillion from independent revenues.

 

Tax justice NGOs, NGOs working on extractive industries, procurement NGOs all have their work carved out in 2016.

 

9.    In his speech the President hinted on the possibilities of a subsidy removal in the future. “I have directed the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to adjust its pricing template to reflect competitive and market driven components. We believe this can lower input costs and attain efficiency savings that will enable PPPRA to keep the selling price for all marketers of petrol at N87 per litre for now.’’

 

The ‘now’ (with emphasis on it by the President in his speech) suggests a possible change in the oil pricing structure which may necessitate the removal of fuel subsidy at some point within the life of this administration. Civil Society Organisations must work together in feeling the pulse of citizens on subsidy removal and not leave organised labour and opposition parties alone to lead the process. We must find evidence based data for our stand on either the removal or non-removal of subsidy; this must not be based on sentiments but on real economic analysis and representation of citizens’ opinion.

 

10.    The cause of the fuel scarcity we have been experiencing in the last couple of months according to the President is caused by ‘market speculators and resistance to change by some stakeholders.’

 

It is imperative for Nigerian NGOs as representatives of the issues affecting the common man to evolve an advocacy and campaign programme that can mobilize citizens’ action in addressing issues of excessive market speculation and strengthen reform in the oil and gas sector.

 

11.    Capital expenditure for the budget is N1.8 trillion as against N557 billion in the 2015 budget. The very first time capital expenditure will be 30% of the total budget – Works, Power and Housing – N433.4 billion; Transport – N202.0 billion; Special Intervention Programs – N200.0 billion; Defence – N134.6 billion; and Interior – N53.1 billion.

 

The increase in capital expenditure by the FG demonstrates its understanding of the need to build critical infrastructure that can support the growth of other key sectors of the economy.  NGOs must mobilize citizens and citizen organisations to ‘follow the money’ and monitor implementation of government projects.

 

12.    In his speech the President called for support in the implementation of the 2016 budget. Though NGOs are specifically not mentioned in the President’s speech neither was the civil society, we have other institutions within the civil society family mentioned; ‘organized labour, industry groups, the press and of course, our religious and traditional institutions.’

 

There is the need for NGOs to be recognised as important actors and contributors to national development by governments at all levels, as NGOs are working hard to support government in several sectors of the economy.

 

In moving rhetoric to action on the need to support government, The President and his team will need an office to coordinate civil society’s support in the implementation of the 2016 budget that is why the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Civil Society is important including an Office for Partnerships.

 

13.    Missing from the President’s speech is the mention of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whose implementation starts in 2016 though sustainable development was mentioned twice in his speech there is evidently a lot of work for SDGs campaigners in analysing the 2016 budget and to ascertain how best it can jump-start the attainment of the SDGs in Nigeria.

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NNNGO partners Development Diaries for 15th Annual NNNGO Conference

Lagos-Nigeria, November 3, 2015

The Nigeria Network of Non-Governmental Organisations, NNNGO, has partnered with Development Diaries LTD/GTE to host the 15^th Annual NNNGO Conference in Lagos-Nigeria on December 9, 2015.

 

The partnership which is premised on the need for productive partnership within the development sector will see Development Diaries, a pan-African media-for-development organisation collaborate with the NNNGO as the official media partner for the one-day national event.

 

In its fifteenth year, the NNNGO Annual Conference has been the only major civil society gathering in Nigeria with the central instrument of fostering exchange on the work of NGOs in Nigeria whilst exploring effective ways to continually strengthen the Nigerian third sector space.

 

With the theme ‘Global Good Practices in NGO Regulations’, the 15^th Annual Conference aims to be a learning event, offering participants drawn from government, civil society, donors and multi-lateral organisations, amongst other sectors the unique opportunity to contribute their experience and knowledge to the theme of the Conference.

 

The Conference will have Erelu Bisi Fayemi, Former First Lady, Ekiti State, a celebrated and well renowned global development actor as its key note speaker.

 

According to the Executive Director, NNNGO, Oyebisi Babatunde Oluseyi, “the 15^th Annual Conference will take place at a critical time in the history of our work as the National Assembly seeks to regulate how Nigerian NGOs receive and utilize funds including how to coordinate and monitor NGOs. Beyond the bills, there has been an increased call for NGO transparency and accountability by various stakeholders.”

 

Oyebisi expressed delight in the partnership secured with Development Diaries LTD/GTE as the official media partner of the 15^th Annual Conference.

 

“We are pleased to collaborate with Development Diaries as the official media partner for the 15^th Annual NNNGO Conference. There is so much optimism that this collaboration will yield maximum advantages for both parties”.

 

Managing Partner, Development Diaries, Femi Aderibigbe, stated that the partnership with the NNNGO is in response to the need for civil society organisations and development agencies to leverage media platforms and expertise to enrich their work as well as engage their stakeholders.

 

The 15^th Annual NNNGO Conference will amongst other things feature opening and closing plenary sessions, keynote address and lead presentation on the title and theme of the Conference as well as interactive panel discussions and breakout sessions.

 

The conference will also feature the launch of the Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, YRK awards and presentation to 2015 awardees.

 

For more information, please log on to: www.nnngo.org/conference or join the conversation online using the hashtag #NNNGO15.

 

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ABOUT THE NNNGO

 

The Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO) is the first generic membership body for civil society organizations in Nigeria. NNNGO facilitates effective advocacy on issues of poverty and other developmental scope. Established in 1992, NNNGO represents over 1800 organizations ranging from small groups working at the local level, to larger networks working at the national level.

 

Website: www.nnngo.org

Facebook.com/nnngo

Twitter – @nnngo

ABOUT DEVELOPMENT DIARIES

 

Development Diaries is a leading Media Professional Service Agency for Africa’s non-profit industry. It exists to assist, advise, support, amplify, give credence to and ensure professionalism in communications and media services and practice for development initiatives across the continent.

 

Website: www.developmentdiaries.com

Facebook.com/developmentdiaries

Twitter – @dev_diaries

Our Teachers: the past, present and future.

 

They show exemplary leadership skill in the field of study, so patient and tolerant albeit shortcomings, assisting along the way without any sign of resentment. In moments of success, when students do extraordinary well, they rejoice to the moon and back. Encouraging students to feel good about themselves and edging them to envision there is nothing impossible that cannot be achieved cum making a one stop call at homes of absent students just to ascertain their well-being.

 

Their insistence for the right things to be done has shaped many lives tremendously. Their compelling guidance and tutors to obey parents, respect elders, leaders, and to fear God are footsteps and marks that cannot be easily erased.
Teachers have played pivotal parental roles in lives and continue to do so even in the lives of children. Taking care of one or two children is never an easy task in homes, let alone of a teacher taking care of a whole class of about twenty to thirty students.

 

Teachers in diverse ways have encouraged, motivated and sometimes even sponsored students crawl to higher pedestals in lives. There are some students, in brief distress moments in their lives, some might have stayed out of school if not for the insistence of teachers. That is the distinguishing mark of a sincere dedicated teacher.
Teachers are an investment for the future of countries. What today’s children will face in adult life cannot be predicted and so the teachers of today and tomorrow need the skills, knowledge and support that will enable them to meet the diverse learning needs of every girl and boy.

 

It is recognized that teachers are not only a means to implementing education goals they are the keys to sustainability and national capacity in achieving learning and creating societies based on knowledge, values and ethics. They however continue to face challenges brought about by staff shortages, poor training and low status
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimates that to achieve the goal of universal primary education by 2020 countries will need to recruit a total of 12.6 million primary teachers. World Teachers’ Day on October 5th hence highlights the fact that teachers must be empowered as an important step towards quality education and sustainable societies.

 

Today, October 5th, the world celebrates the 20th anniversary of World Teachers Day. The day commemorates the adoption of the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the status of teachers in 1966.   In many countries, the quality of education is undermined by a deficit of teachers. About 1.4 million teachers are missing in classrooms and they are needed to achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE) by 2015, which is this year, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. But fortunately again the SDGs are looking into making goal 4 workable on or before the year 2030.

 

Added to the challenge of numbers is one quality all too often, teachers are found working without resources or proper training. The stakes are high, because today, global learning crisis is another challenge, with an estimate of 250 million children not acquiring basic skills of reading and writing.  As countries have accelerated towards 2015 and the new development agenda is now shaped, the fourth goal being quality education, it is essential that teachers should and forever remain a priority.

 

Parts of Global Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda states the essentials for supporting teachers’ effectiveness: good conditions of employment, including appropriate contracts and salaries, and prospects for career progression and promotion; good conditions in the work environment, creating school contexts that are conducive to teaching; high-quality pre-and in-service training for teachers, respect for human rights and the principles of inclusive education; effective management cum teachers recruitment and deployment.

 

In Nigeria, civil servants are generally not treated well teachers inclusive. Teachers have endured enough, the often expressed theory that teachers rewards are in heaven is beautiful but again the reward should begin here on earth. They are often not provided with instructional materials to carry out their jobs and yet they are the first to be blamed for the poor performance of students, yet these Nigerian teachers still go about their business of making a difference in the lives of these students with the hope that the future smiles bright on them.

 

At this critical point, the international community, governments, parastatals and individuals need to stand united to support teachers and quality learning worldwide, especially in those countries where the highest number of out-of-school children exist. Teachers are our angels.

Lagos, Nigeria, 05 October 2015/– The Nigeria Network of NGOs (www.nnngo.org ) will host the 15^th annual NNNGO conference in Lagos, Nigeria on 9 December 2015.

 

The conference will bring together not-for-profit organisations working in Nigeria to discuss topics ranging from NGO regulations, to the importance of a self regulatory framework and the necessity of adequate compliance mechanisms on NGO regulations in Nigeria. Her Excellency, Mrs. Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, former first lady and one of the 20 most influential African women on the continent as named by New African Magazine will give a keynote address centred on theme of the conference ‘’global good practices in NGO regulations’’.

 

Nigeria Network of NGOs’ Executive Director Oyebisi Oluseyi said ‘’we are honoured to have Mrs Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi join us at the 15^th annual conference of the Network, she is an industry expert with years of experience, working within civil society, government, donor community and multilateral organisations, her experience will be useful to the theme of the conference’’ The 15^th annual NNNGO conference offers huge potential for the growth of the not-for-profit sector in Nigeria including opportunities for participants to network, share experience and showcase their work.

 

Some participants already confirmed for the conference include:

 

Abia North Industrial Development Initiative | Olumide Emmanuel Foundation | HillCity Foundation | African Youth Animation Network | Dynamic Women International Association | Global Community Health Foundation | Education for all initiative | Dewdrops Care Development Foundation | Dahiel Ogechi Akujobi Memorial (DOAM) Foundation| The Irede Foundation | Society to Heighten Awareness of Women and Children Abuse (SOTHAWACA) | Less privileged children Encouragement Initiative | Reconciliation Trainers Africa (RETA) | Sesôr Empowerment Foundation | Steps to Life Nigeria |Centre for Citizens Emancipation and Empowerment (CFCEE) | Global Healthplus Initiative | All Nigeria United Nations Students and Youths Association ( ANUNSA) | Women’s Board – ECS | Morgan Smart Development Foundation.| Sanitation and Hygiene Education Initiative | Hope Builders Skill Devp & Acq. Foundation | Dove Generation International Youths Organisation | Association of Women Professional Financial Managers (AWPFM) | Centre for Alternative, Development and Self-Enhancement | The Youth Future Savers Initiative | Act Of Random Kindness Foundation International | Women & Children’s Rights Development Centre (WOCHRID) | Community Women Progressive Association | Apiri Hallowed Foundation | Life-Skills Initiative For Youth Empowerment And Development | Global Hindu Charity Foundation (GHCF) | Glorious Child of Hope Foundation | Foster Paradise Orphanage

 

Oyebisi noted further that ‘’the long term growth of the Nigerian 3^rd sector space ultimately depends on an effective self regulation mechanism backed by adequate legislation. There is so much energy around NGO regulations in our county at the moment, one which can and should be tapped into by both government and the civil society community. That is why we are so committed to engaging with government and NGO stakeholders, to share a vision of a potentially self regulatory environment for Nigerian NGOs’’

 

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