BUDGET 2010, REPS. tell us how they intend to spend OUR MONEY.
After flexing muscles with the upper house over where the 2010 budget should be and not be read, reps. finally have got time to face more important business. The matter however is pending in court. Absolutely, due process has to be followed, even in trying to choose a location for reading the budget. Many say it’s a conventional matter, not a constitutional one but, this is the era of transparency and due process right? So even if it takes 5months to choose a location, let it. I agree. (Clears throat).Yes, more important business, I mentioned earlier. Like how exactly next year’s allocation be determined, and shared. Now, why does this give me so much joy? Attention to details. Even the minutest issue has been addressed.
News reaching us makes us understand that in drawing up this budget, attention was paid to details. No, I don’t mean every pressing need of core sectors of our economy, and country. Neither do I mean that Federal Govt. had taken into consideration the children on the streets, the education sector; unity schools brouhaha, salaries of teachers, nationwide renovation on schools, massive purchase of laboratory equipments needed in secondary schools and our ailing universities, an upgrade of our hospitals, or the elusive megawatts of power...sounds like too many details already? I told you.
I am talking about details of the expenses our honorables will expend in the course of carrying out the arduous, but patriotic task of serving our fatherland. Such as; 22billion naira being allocated to travels, international and local. But you know in order to function effectively like other countries in the world; our reps. have to travel extensively to garner knowledge, exposure and experience firsthand how these things are done. Their style of approach should conform to international standards. Do we blame them? No, these are the demands of the office they occupy. Jet- lag, and all, you can not help but pity them.
15.8billion naira, on sitting allowances. You know they have to sit while they crack their brains over the myriad issues suffocating and disturbing the polity. It’s no easy job. Did I hear you say ‘try standing?’Haba, how can you be so mean? Do you think it’s easy to sit hours on end, trying to figure how to move a country like Nigeria forward? Nigeria has toxic issues .If it were America or one of these advanced countries, it would have been easier. You won’t dissipate so much energy. All that sitting…ah, even the dozing and snoring carried out during the sitting is constitutional because, you know, body no be firewood.
So you can not actually blame that 287.5million naira is to be spent on maintenance of furniture. Remember, all-that-sitting? Plus, a whole National assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria…state of the art furniture jare. After all, what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. The order that was made and delivered last year, yes o, those chairs and other furniture that are yet to be utilized and are still piled up as a result of lack of space to mount them, can not be used anymore. Ever heard of depreciation? Besides, those chairs were far from comfy.
In order to meet with the burgeoning demand of Information Technology and fill the gap Nigeria has created, being a laggard in integrating with this evolving world called the global village, our reps. have decided to lead by example.952.7million naira is to be spent on purchase of computer materials. While maintenance of these sophisticated materials would need 360million naira After spending so much to buy them, we can not afford to let them go bad now, can we? We can not overemphasize the volume of work that goes on in the offices of these reps., their aides, and assistants too. They get to write proposals, carry out research, document, and what have you. So they have to be fully equipped to deal with this fast paced and highly engaging duty. Their aides, assistants too have to be carried along. How can you forget so soon, we are in the era of transparency? To add to that, “what is good for the goose…” Not providing these computers, printers, papers, ink, for every office will slow down productivity and there is no telling what that can do to a nation like ours. The Giant of Africa. Let not even go there. Our reps. have taken the bull by the horns. Theirs is not a lost generation. They have to do all to empower themselves as regards IT. During their time, they did not have access to stuff like that. Not these days where the average Nigerian child is IT savvy, schools are well furnished with the latest IT hardware and qualified teachers, not cybercafé attendants, I mean qualified teachers who know their onions. What a lucky generation we are. So let’s give our reps. the opportunity they lost.
I applaud their zeal and eagerness to learn and improve on themselves.355.1million naira on library books and periodicals. In fact the books and periodicals supplied last year must have been so intellectually stimulating and absorbing that they had to carry them to their various houses. This is because you may not find these books in their library, in case you wanted to pay a visit. Being family men and women, striving to maintain balanced lifestyles even with their tough schedule, they try to spend more time at home so rather than expend the money budgeted for the library expansion, they decided to jack at home. Creative solution, innovative thinking and a new world order.
Each committee is entitled to 5million naira to hire consultants and 460million naira in total, to hire consultants. We need a pool of knowledge, the finest brains mankind has to offer, undiluted expertise, because, this vision 2020, we must get there. There is absolutely no way our highly esteemed reps. can know everything. We all have given that title to God alone. Even Obama surrounds himself with a team of seasoned professionals, technocrats of no mean stature. Do you think they get paid in groundnuts? Think again. MDGs, NEEDS, PAP, hmmm, we must finish them. Even if they know next to nothing about the portfolios they occupy, or the committees they head or are members, with the right people, we are on the path to success.
In fact, at times, such teams allow for wonderful discoveries. A case where the special adviser is an in-law, and another is a cousin and another is a wife’s cousin or the consulting firm itself has the rep. as chairman, or director is nothing new. Don’t be myopic. Have an open mind. The koko here is that these people are qualified and are worth their salt. Charity, they say begins at home. What happened to being your brother’s keeper? Let’s not disappoint God.
To show how meticulous my reps. were, they took care of the unforeseen.13.5billion naira to be spent on miscellaneous expenses. You know it’s a strange world and anything can happen. The roof could fall despite renovations, the furniture could still turn out not to be comfy and then new ones might be ordered...you can not, must not play with issues like this. A rep. could have emotional break down and stress related issues and might need a special retreat, any thing. Only God knows, but we must be armed for these miscellaneous happenings and expenses.13.5billion naira is not.too.small. for the unknown.
At least, now we know what some of the monies are doing and to say we are impressed is to say the least. We are overwhelmed and pleased to know that finally, our reps. got it right this time!
