Cross River to inject World Bank SFTAS grant into 2021 budget to arrest youth restiveness

Cross River State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Asuquo Ekpenyong Jr has disclosed to the press that

Cross River State government intends to inject $20.4 million dollars grant from the World Bank's States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability , SFTAS, programme into implementation of 2021 budget of blush and bliss.

Mr Ekpenyong Jr stated this on Friday in Calabar during a press briefing at Ministry of Finance Headquarters that the money would be ploughed into the implementation of the state's 2021 budget which has emphasis on job creation for the youths.

He stated that Cross River state met the eligibility criteria for the 2019 programme and was accordingly pre-qualified for the detailed annual performance assessment of all qualified Nigerian states under the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme.

The assessment exercise which was conducted in September 2020 by the Independent Verification Assessors (IVA) from the office of the Auditor General of the Federation and JFR Consulting, showed that Cross River state achieved 6 Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLRs), out of 9 applicable DLRs for 2019, and 3 DLRs out of 3DLRs, i.e 100% for the 2020 additional financing.

The Commissioner said that the report noted that Cross River state has strengthened its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) collection, implemented biometric verification to reduce Payroll fraud, improved its procurement practices for increased transparency, strengthened its public debt management and fiscal responsibility framework, improved debt sustainability and instituted a more transparent budgeting process over the course of the fiscal year.

The Commissioner used the opportunity to commend the members of the SFTAS state Steering Committee for their untiring efforts in bringing the state machinery up to speed towards achieving resounding success in the programme. The Steering Committee comprises of the Ministry of Finance, Internal Revenue Service, Office of Accountant General, Bureau of Due Process, Debt Management Department, and Auditor General’s Office.

He further stated that, “the independent verification success is a confirmation of the Ayade led administration’s commitment to transparency and fiscal performance”.

The SFTAS programme is a product of mutual agreement between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the World Bank, designed to strengthen the fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability in Nigerian states as a way of improving their revenue base, increasing fiscal efficiency in public expenditure and reducing debt overhang.

It’s a four year programme that runs from 2018 to 2022, with a budget size of $750million.

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