Nigerians are not interested in the arithmetic of the FG budget if the price of bread and rice does not decrease – renowned economist, Rewane
Renowned economist Bismarck Rewane has stated Nigerians are not interested in the budget if the costs of fundamental commodities like rice, bread and garri do not fall.
Rewane, Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, disclosed this on Thursday, November thirtieth.
In his first budget presentation earlier than the National Assembly on Wednesday, President Bola Tinubu stated the proposed N27.5trn budget for 2024 will guarantee microeconomic stability, poverty discount and better entry to social safety, amongst others.
He highlighted precedence areas similar to safety, native job creation, macroeconomic stability, optimization of the funding setting, growth of human capital, poverty discount and social safety.
Breaking down the budget estimates, the President pegged present non-debt expenditure at N9.92 billion, capital expenditure at N8.73 billion, debt service at N8.25 billion, income at N18.32 billion, new loans at N7.83 billion and the deficit at N9. 18trn.
Responding to the growth, Rewane stated: “In the end, budgetary arithmetic, budgetary mathematics in economics is of no use to anyone, except when, at this point, six months from now, we are buying rice at N40,000 a bag, in instead of N60,000 per bag, if we buy N900 bread, a big loaf, instead of N1,300, which we are doing today. If we are buying garri at lower prices.
“People are not interested in knowing if the budget is balanced and what the debt is. How does this (the budget) affect your daily subsistence? That is the main issue.”
“And as you know, prices have gone up and people are under tremendous pressure,” he stated, including that the poverty price in the nation is driving individuals loopy.
“You will notice that on the streets of Lagos in particular, the number of lunatics has increased and part of this is driven by poverty. Lots of mental health issues. People are pushed against the wall. Some of them cross the road even in moving traffic.
“People need to feel the impact. the impact will not be felt because of 10 or 12% of GDP, that is, N27trn; there has to be more. Where will more come from? It will come from investors, and investors will come here when they are confident that their money is safe and the environment is clean, and when they can look forward to a better future.”
He stated the authorities should be sincere with Nigerians about financial realities, saying “honesty is in short supply”.
According to him, individuals can not begin pretending to be pleased. “You can fake news, but you can’t fake prosperity,” he stated.
Source: www.lindaikejisblog.com