We can save $5bn annually – Finance minister

bibing

Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said she can save as much as $5 billion annually by cracking down on waste in more than 450 government agencies, a strategy that will determine how well Nigerian economy weathers its slowest growth spell since 1999.

Adeosun, who took office in November, offered an early glimpse of how Africa’s top crude exporter plans to navigate a crash in oil prices that has beset petrostates globally.

Nigeria’s government revenue has fallen by about 60% from the height of the oil boom more than a year ago, she said.

To compensate for those lost funds, the London-born former accountant and investment banker said she would scrutinize the prices government agencies pay for plane tickets, office supplies and other items.

Next year’s budget will also include caps on increases to government workers’ salaries, she said.
“We’re trying to rein everybody in,” Ms. Adeosun, 48 years old, said from behind the desk vacated in May by her predecessor, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. “I don’t expect anybody to like it, but I also expect people to understand that where we find ourselves, there’s no choice.”

Mrs. Adeosun was finance commissioner for Ogun State before she was appointed minister.

Source: Daily Trust