The 2020 budget of sustaining growth and job creation. What you give is what you get.
Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari presented the proposed 2020 budget at the joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja.
The second priority of the budget is to Invest in critical infrastructure and institutions that promote human capital development, most especially in key job-creating sectors. Critical to achieving this objective is the planned expenditure on education, health and defence, as citizens must be educated, healthy and safe for all-round development.
The Federal Government projects that they will spend $28 billion ($308 million, $123 million, and $227million for Education, Health and Defense respectively) and earn $22 billion in 2020. This expenditure is expected to cater to Nigeria’s 200 million citizens. The planned government investment in human capital development per capita in 2020 is $3 or N1,083 and planned government revenue per capita is $109 or N39,349 in the same period.
In other words, Nigerians are expected to produce 33.4 times the amount that the Nigerian government invests in their development. How do we compare with other countries?
Figure 1 shows that vis-à-vis other countries, the expectation of the Nigerian government and society from her citizens is unusually high. The government allocates very little to meet the needs of its citizens. To make up for the shortfall, many engage in crime, corrupt activities, and other socio-economic vices. The alarming rate of brain drain in recent times can also be attributed to this factor.
This anomaly in expectation can be addressed by strategically increasing investment in human capital development enablers.
In light of current market realities, the federal government should consider using more of other unconventional sources of funds such as the capital market, private equity, development agencies, and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for financing these enablers.
In conclusion, there is a need for tangible investments to obtain high sustainable returns. After all, what you give is what you get.
