I posted a damning story yesterday about Buhari from "thenation newspaper" this is even more damaging.
Curious figures
Some of the extravagances in the presidency’s budget are stunningly indefensible
Curiously
enough, President Muhammadu Buhari’s first budget estimates after
rising to power on a promise of change have familiar ingredients
associated with the old discredited order. Details of the 2016 budget
proposal reflect astonishing similarities with the immediate past,
prompting questions about the meaning of change.
To start with,
the interest in acquiring a fleet of new high-end luxury cars for the
Presidency bespeaks flawed prioritisation. A vote of N3.6b for BMW
saloon cars for principal officers is certainly on the high side,
considering that the cars are not essential for good governance.
Furthermore, the number of the cars is unspecified, leaving room for
possible corruption-related manipulation.
Also, the mention of
BMW saloon vehicles and their cost brings to mind the matter of a former
Aviation Minister in the Goodluck Jonathan administration, Stella
Oduah, who was involved in a questionable procurement of two
bullet-proof BMW cars at $800,000 each during her tenure. The Buhari
government cannot afford such a stain at this time when it is trying to
get the public to appreciate its claim that it met a vastly depleted
treasury.
The point is that it
is a contradiction to say the country is in a mess economically, and yet
go on to purchase expensive vehicles whose purpose could as well be
served by less costly ones. While we appreciate the need for
befitting vehicles for the Presidency, the reality is that BMW cars are
not exactly realistic, given an economy struggling with the basics.
Still
on cars and associated items. The cost of tyres is put at N189.1m to
cover the bulletproof and regular Mercedes Benz cars. In addition, the
expenditure on tyres is to cover other brands of vehicles, including
Toyota cars, trucks, Land Cruiser and Prado SUVs, Hilux pick-up vans,
Peugeot 607 and 406 cars, ambulances and others broadly described as
“utility and operational vehicles”.
Other expenditures on the
Presidency’s vehicles include N39.8m for the purchase of an unspecified
number of 200 amps, 100 amps and 60 amps Mercedes Benz batteries for
bulletproof vehicles. Also, N30m is to be expended on the purchase of
tool boxes, car jacks, and diagnostic machines for the Presidency’s
bulletproof cars. The purchase of C-Caution triangles,
fire-extinguishers and cables is to cost N27m.
It is unclear how
the Presidency arrived at these figures, but they are unsettling
reminders of the Jonathan presidential era when public expenditures
seemed to be padded, and were actually inflated to enrich private
pockets. We hope that is not the case in this new political
dispensation.
It would appear that public criticism of the high
frequency of President Buhari’s international travels since he took
office has not been effective enough to cause a review. As against the
2015 N24.4b allocation, which was used by Buhari and his predecessor,
the Presidency voted N39b for local and international travels and
transportation in the 2016 budget. This suggests more foreign travels by
Buhari when he is expected to fly less and stay on the ground to
address the country’s failure to realise its potential.
Equally
odd is the N362m allocation for Wildlife Conservation in 2016, in place
of the N24. 6m voted for the same category last year, including the
purchase of exotic animals. Ironically, the difference in the figures
makes Jonathan’s government look saintly, quite apart from the dubious
category which this particular allocation is meant to serve.
What
is more, the allocation for acquisition of presidential canteen
materials and kitchen equipment increased from N83.1m in 2015 to N89m in
2016. There is also a marginal increase in the N11m voted for supply of
foodstuff and catering services in the Vice President’s office in 2015
to N16.6m.
Other puzzling figures include: general renovation of
the Guest House (N387m); complete furnishing of the Guest House (N45m);
purchase of computers (N27.5m) and construction and provision of
recreational facilities (N764m). It may be asked: What are the
recreational facilities missing at the Presidency?
Here and there
in the budget are suspect figures that signal not only the possibility
of inflation, but also the possibility of wastefulness. While there is
no indication of the number or condition of items procured by the
Presidency in 2015, N114.4m is to be expended on the upgrade of internet
infrastructure in the State House and N22.5m is to be spent on
purchasing internet servers. What is described as “Active Devices for
State House Network” is to cost N100m, and N35m is to be expended on the
purchase of security appliances and licences, including computer
anti-virus software.
The Buhari administration must not give the
false impression that another government did not exist before it. Does
it mean that the Jonathan administration, with all its warts, left
nothing useful, and everything has to be renewed to make the new
government work as expected?
http://thenationonlineng.net/curious-figures/
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