Burden of Debt
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has challenged the National Assembly to stop the Federal Government from borrowing to execute projects in the country.
ASCSN?s President Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama made this declaration at an interactive session with reporters after the association?s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Lagos.
He said, ?We hereby challenge NASS to be more resolute in its oversight function to stop not at merely criticising the borrowing plans of the Executive arm, but to protect present and coming generations by forbidding new loans plans under any guise, and insist on prudent management of our resources through diligent performance of their legislative duties.
?We are worried that we will soon be back in the forest of mounting debts that may this time around consume the entire country because from records, Nigeria is negotiating a new debt deal of about $7.46billion, which has nothing to show that our earning from daily crude oil sales is being judiciously used.
?We also call on well-meaning Nigerians, including the labour movement to reject this loan move as keeping quiet may translate into mortgaging the future of our unborn children,? he further said.
Kaigama said the nation?s leaders have bad records of accomplishment using debts to finance projects, adding, ?The International Monetary Fund (IMF) report reveals that for every N100 Nigeria spends as service, about N80 goes into private pockets.?
He said ASCSN hopes Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), both at the federal and state levels, will imbibe trade union best practices, and act proactively to encourage industrial harmony in the system, adding that the use of strikes to address labour issues was not the best.
He advised MDAs, principally the Federal Ministry of Education, to dialogue with labour, as it is done in other parts of the world.
?I wish to recall that in 2009 the leadership of this union and the management of the Federal Ministry of Education agreed to institutionalise quarterly meetings where outstanding labour issues and nascent ones including the vexed issues of non-payment of promotion arrears and inappropriate placement of officers after promotion will be discussed and amicably resolved in line with contemporary trade union best practice,? he said.
He noted that the formulation and carrying out of guidelines without taking input from stakeholders, is not in conformity with democratic cultures.
?It is, indeed, surprising that a country that wants to be among the best 20 economies in the world by 2020 cannot guarantee basic social needs, such as electricity, potable water, and good road network, decent housing, and healthcare delivery, affordable and qualitative education, among others for its citizenry eight years to the envisaged Eldorado.?
?We call on the federal, state and local government to open up more frontiers of employment opportunities to engage millions of idle youths who are willing and eager to earn a living because there is no doubt that if the various government embark on massive road construction, building of housing estates, extensive agriculture farm projects, there will be lots of job opportunities for the able-bodied youth to be productively engaged,? he said.
He, on the other hand, begged them to unite, preach love, and shun rancorous tendencies that would rather slow us down.
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