The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called the attention of the Federal Government on the need to increase the performance of the capital expenditure in the proposed 2024 budget.
LCCI gave the demand following the proposed 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday.
In a statement made by The Director General, LCCI, Dr Chinyere Almona, she stated that the proposed 2024 budget is the biggest in the country’s history, while highlighting some recommendations for implementation.In her words: “Government must improve its budget performance in terms of capital expenditure in 2024.
“Over the years, the performance of the capital expenditure has been very low relative to the recurrent expenditure with implications for the country’s infrastructure sector.The situation is worrisome and calls for urgent solutions.
“Particular attention must be paid to investing more in transport infrastructure in order to mitigate the high cost of fuel and resolve the many logistical challenges that have impacted the movement of goods across the nation.
“Looking beyond oil revenues, the government must build investors’ confidence and enhance our forex earnings through non-oil exports.
“We need to invest more in export infrastructure through automation and implementation of critical port reforms to reduce the bottlenecks in our export logistics and processes.
“In addressing the most significant components of human capital development, we urge governments at all levels to be committed to significantly improving budget implementation in strategic sectors of the economy, including agriculture, education, health, infrastructure, and security.
“Efforts must be made to scale up revenue collection by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) through consistent tax administrative measures, digitalization, and policy reforms.”LCCI further pointed out that relative to Nigeria’s GDP size, the proposed budget is 12.2%, which is very low when compared to other African nations like South Africa, with a government expenditure to GDP ratio of 32.5%, Egypt (24.7%), Kenya (23.0%) and Ghana (27.1%).
“This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed by the government in the light of its Renewed Hope Agenda,” the statement added.