Ministry of finance
$5.6m loan gotten for stationary- Finance ministry. The World Bank provided $5.6 million to the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning’s Home Finance Department to purchase 21 items, including office stationery, furniture, a solar inverter, office equipment, and cars.
The decisions were taken as part of the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability project, which began in 2018.
The SFTAS initiative, which ended in 2022, was intended to improve openness and accountability at the subnational level.
However, according to a document obtained from the bank, project implementation is still proceeding.
According to the PUNCH, the World Bank has pledged $1.5 billion to the project in two installments of $750 million (December 2018 and December 2020).
Although the money is a grant to the states, it is actually a loan to the federal government. A copy of the project’s procurement strategy for the period February 2019 to August 2020.
The procurement strategy adheres to the World Bank’s Procurement Guidelines, which outline the procedures to be followed for procuring the goods and services (including related services) required for a project.
According to the World Bank’s procurement strategy for the SFTAS project for the period, the Home Finance Department received $25,713 to purchase office stationery and supplies.
It also received $39,357 in addition to the N33,000 requested for new office equipment and supplies for the SFTAS Programme Coordinating Unit.
The department received $64,190 for furnishing and equipping the SFTAS Public Service Institute space; $14,842 for additional office furniture and partitioning of the STFAS office; and $19,368 (up from $17,250) for additional office equipment and furniture for the Debt Management Office.
In addition, the department received $24,038 to purchase video conferencing equipment for the SFTAS PCU and MiFi modems for the DMO.
The largest permission, however, was for the distribution of spatial data to states, which was implemented at a cost of $4.78 million.
In addition, $409,638 was granted for the purchase of project cars for the PCU and independent verification agent. The ministry also spent money to buy an inverter power backup system for the SFTAS Program Coordinating Unit.
Two of the intended 21 items were canceled, four were finished successfully, and one was in the process of being implemented. In addition, three projects were undergoing implementation, while 11 projects had merely been signed by the time the paper was released in December 2023.
The World Bank has announced that Nigeria would be the top receiver of new loans in 2022, with approximately $2.9 billion made available to the country.
According to another study, Nigeria is now servicing approximately $14.12 billion in loans from 108 approved loans. According to the study, the oldest debt being serviced was issued in 1989 by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, while the most current loan being serviced was approved in 2018 by Muhammadu Buhari’s former administration.
The oldest loan is the $100.9 million Multistate Agricultural Development Project (03), which was granted to fund the implementation of state-wide Agricultural Development Projects with the goal of enhancing food/crop production and small farmer income.
In an earlier interview with The PUNCH, SFTAS Communications Specialist Ibrahim Mohammed stated that purchasing project-related materials was standard process.
He stated that the products were purchased at the start of the project and were used to secure the project’s success.
“When a program begins, the basic items required for the jobs are procured,” he explained. So, procurement was made in terms of providing office furniture, ICT infrastructure, and so on. They are all for the office’s use, not the ministry’s or department’s.
“The office is located in the Ministry of Finance’s Home Finance Department.” We have implementing agencies and partners such as the DMO, AGF, OGP, and the Federation’s Auditor General’s Office. All consultant fees are paid from this fund, and the consultants provide technical help to the states.”