The Senate has shifted the anticipated debate on the 2014-2016 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP), despite its importance to the formulation of the 2014 Appropriation Bill.
President Goodluck Jonathan forwarded the MTEF to the upper legislative chamber last week in hope of a speedy debate. But even before the debate kicked off on Wednesday, the legislators tasked the body’s Joint Committees on Finance and Appropriation to study the document, pinpointing its flaws and its strong points.
Chaired by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, the committee will meet the Executive in order to correct all noticeable flaws in the document ahead of its presentation to the Senate for debate and approval. This, it will do, within two weeks.
According to the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the two chambers of the National Assembly must debate and approve the MTEF and FSP before the Appropriation Bill could be presented to the National Assembly.
Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba had presented the MTEF and FSP for consideration but some Senators urged the upper chamber to reject.
Ndoma-Egba observed that the MTEF and FSP are proposing a reduction in the capital expenditure and a rise in the recurrent expenditure, describing the reduction in the capital spending for 2014 as a consequence of government’s projected reduction in revenue in 2014.
