• Banks show apathy due to TSA policy
Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
The federal government is on the verge of developing a template to guide the operational and accounting procedures of the National Social Investment Office (NSIO) with a view to checking the slow and manual process for the disbursement of funds in the Social Intervention Programmes(SIP).
Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
The federal government is on the verge of developing a template to guide the operational and accounting procedures of the National Social Investment Office (NSIO) with a view to checking the slow and manual process for the disbursement of funds in the Social Intervention Programmes(SIP).
The existing procedure is believed to be
slow and not highly effective to drive the SIPs in such a manner that
the desired impact is efficiently and timely felt by the ultimate
beneficiaries.
The SIP, which was first introduced in
the 2016 budget has four components: N-Power, Home Grown School Feeding
Programme (HGSFP), Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and Government
Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP).
According to a document recently
presented to the National Economic Council (NEC) by the Minister of
State, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, a
copy of which was obtained by THISDAY, a framework for driving the
communication strategy for the Social Investment Office is currently
being designed.
Ahmed disclosed that a template for
guiding the operational and accounting procedures of the NSIO is
currently being designed by her ministry.
Some of the challenges that faced SIPs,
Ahmed said, included slow start with building technological systems due
to procurement and funding challenges, adding that there were
constraints to planning as a result of uncertainties with the time taken
to process payment requests and authorise payments.
She stressed that there were also issues
with designing a sustainable enrolment and payment system as a result
of the rural terrain, as well as long and difficult distances
in-between, compounded by the lack of technology and banking
infrastructure.
The Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy, the minister added, also acts as a disincentive for commercial banks to engage in the programme.
The Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy, the minister added, also acts as a disincentive for commercial banks to engage in the programme.
Communication gap and overlap of
responsibilities by state actors (especially between the state focal
persons and the key ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) also
pose a challenge, even as she equally pointed to the delay in third
party monitoring structures being set up to ensure objective and
independent feedback.
The minister pointed out that the funding gaps to cover their logistics are yet to be addressed.
The minister pointed out that the funding gaps to cover their logistics are yet to be addressed.
She also disclosed that low literacy
levels of most of the beneficiaries was making it difficult for seamless
integration without adequate advocacy and sensitisation at community
level.
Many of the female beneficiaries, Ahmed pointed out, lack the knowledge or confidence to assert themselves and take ownership of the programme, adding that they needed to be hand-held.
Many of the female beneficiaries, Ahmed pointed out, lack the knowledge or confidence to assert themselves and take ownership of the programme, adding that they needed to be hand-held.
The problem of political interplay and
interference at federal and state levels were also identified,
especially with regards to identification and selection of
beneficiaries, as well as payments.
There is also the lack of a conducive working atmosphere, a situation, the minister noted, leads to many of the ministry staff working from different offices..
Another challenge is the lack of interest by the private sector and a few donor agencies, for sustainability.
There is also the lack of a conducive working atmosphere, a situation, the minister noted, leads to many of the ministry staff working from different offices..
Another challenge is the lack of interest by the private sector and a few donor agencies, for sustainability.
Ahmed disclosed that her ministry was
exploring means of technical assistance and support for donor agencies
and the private sector in the area of building systems and for funding
of aspects that go beyond the provisions in the national budget, such as
monitoring, sensitisation and advocacy.
She stated that the government was
engaging key partners, including the Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement
System (NIBSS) Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); NSIO Technology Management
Office (TMO), and Efina Donor Partners, among others in order to come
up with a sustainable framework for driving the enrolment, off-line and
on-time payments to beneficiaries at the last mile.
In order to guarantee high level
political authority and co-ordination for all the social protection
programme in Nigeria, the federal government set up a National Social
Investment Office within the Office of the Vice President.
This is with a view to ensuring a credible method of targeting the poor and vulnerable for the reduction of poverty as well as the poor human capital indices in order to reduce them.
This is with a view to ensuring a credible method of targeting the poor and vulnerable for the reduction of poverty as well as the poor human capital indices in order to reduce them.
On what the different components of the
SIP has done so far, the minister said the current scope of the N-Power
is 200, 000 graduate beneficiaries from all the 36 states and the FCT.
The non-graduate component, she disclosed, is to kick off once procurement process is completed.
For the HGSFP, the current scope is 5, 245, 505 pupils for 18 states.
On CCT, she said the current scope of that programme is based on the spread of the social register established across nine states.
For the HGSFP, the current scope is 5, 245, 505 pupils for 18 states.
On CCT, she said the current scope of that programme is based on the spread of the social register established across nine states.
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