Imo State budgeting process has World Bank endorsement — Commissioner  

CHRISTOPHER OSUALA, two time federal legislator, holds three PhDs. He is a lawyer, as well as a management and financial expert. He sits on the Imo State Executive Council as commissioner for budget, economic planning and statistics. He spoke with SABY ELEMBA on the progress being made in the management of Imo State by Governor Hope Uzodinma, through the Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Statistics. Excerpts:

Let us start by asking you this: How does the Imo State budget relate to the people? 

Well, in any structured society, family, and as it pertains to Imo State, since the arrival of Governor Hope Uzodinma as the governor of Imo State, the way the budget relates to  the communities in Imo State, is that we use World Bank indices for the first time to prepare our budgets. And we have what we call “Community Charter of Demands”. And Community Charter of Demands comes from the fact that we go to almost over 500 autonomous communities, and we organise the legislators, chairmen of different councils, community leaders, women leaders, youth leaders, their royal highnesses and town union presidents. 

We ask them, what do they want the government to do for them? And then we have town hall meetings, that is how we originate the budget of Imo State,  since the arrival of Governor Hope Uzodinma.

And this is in compliance with World Bank requirements called the State Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability Programme. When we gather the information through this community charter of needs,  then we translate it statistically to represent the needs of various communities in Imo State, then we bring it up to state level. 

What  happens afterwards? 

We have stakeholders’ meetings where Eze Imo, the traditional rulers and all the president generals participate. Sometimes they bring their representatives, and also the civil society organisations, etc, participate in the budgetary process at the state level. 

When it is prepared  at that level,  it becomes a draft budget and we send it to the Imo House of Assembly to synthesise it in a legislative manner. Then they return it with their own legislative input, before we send the final draft to the executive council meeting. And from that process, it is sent to the Imo House of Assembly for them to fix the date when the budget will be discussed and subsequently when the governor and his team will be invited to present the budget formally for the Imo people. So these things involve the citizens. 

For about two years now, the Imo State budget has been winning the funds attached to the State Fiscal  Transparency and Accountability programmes (SFTAs); how is it able to do this? 

It is true. I will just say it on the average. Since 2021, 2022, and of course 2023, Imo State has gotten on average $10 million through this programme, if we  count 2023, Imo State will be getting $40 million. And this is called World Bank grant SFTAs. There are what we call Delivery Link Indicators or Disbursement Link Indicators(DLIs), and there are what we call link results or disbursement link results. 

The delivery link indicators are the things that the states are required to do. Just like the first question you asked,  that comes under community engagement. When you do community engagement, there is what we call community sensitisation, there is also what we call creating awareness. 

Because the essence of modern budgeting, which I must add in parentheses, the only governor that has introduced this is Governor Hope Uzodinma.

This process of World Bank budgeting has never happened in the history of Imo State since 1976 when Imo State was created. This is the best innovation this governor has brought to Imo State and for the last three years, we have been getting a minimum of $10,000,000. And that is a grant from the World Bank and that grant is not a loan,  it is free funds for the work that Imo State is doing in terms of making their budget in compliance with global requirements. 

And for people that may doubt this, you can go to www. imo.gov.ng. For the first time you can access Imo State budget online in any location,  whether you are in New York City or Los Angeles or you are in the UK,  or you are in Germany or you are in Lagos,  especially in Imo State,  you can sit at the comfort of your home and get linked to the budget. 

What we are doing is prudent management of resources. That is the benchmark, that something you budgeted is something that has a positive impact on the lives of the people. And the World Bank sees that the  administration is presently using that money to better the lives of the people, and that Governor Hope Uzodinma has given that innovation to the people through the help of the Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning  and Statistics. 

How has your office reformed the Imo State economy from what it used to be over the years? How would you assess the state’s economy? 

This assessment is an objective assessment. Prior to Governor Hope Uzodinma arriving,  no citizen of Imo State can say that he or she could go online to access the budget,  it has never been done. 

And from anywhere now,  you can access what we are doing and how the funds are coming and  how the funds are being dispensed. That is the most objective assessment. 

Now, if I want to compare, there has never been an administration in the history of Imo State that the World Bank  has given any money for budgetary transparency,  it has never happened. So that shows you that this administration, what it has done in budgeting has never been done before , I still stand to be corrected. 

Now,  let me give an example. Parenthetically speaking, on November 14th, 2022 in Abuja,  the World Bank has what they call DLIs which I had explained, and  those are the delivery links to assess budgetary processes. Out of those nine DLIs that the World  Bank has given,  the truth is when they have assessed all the 36 states including FCT, in what the rankings  are like.  

For instance they can say you did good, or bad or poor,  or excellent. Now,  those nine DLIs,  when the World Bank published their result, ‘Imo State is the only state in the federation that scored excellent on  the nine DLIs, no other  state’.  

And that results in governors or governments that are doing things prudently. And their word was brought to governor Hope Uzodinma for being the most prudent in the management of resources as of 2022 based on World Bank rating because in all the delivery indicators,  Imo State scored excellent. So, now compare that to any other administration. 

Could you share an insight into the 2023 budget expectations? 

That’s the budget of wealth expansion. It is building on what we have been doing. Remember,  this is a shared prosperity administration. So, expansion of wealth is what we have  been doing  for the people. 

The budget is making infrastructure available to the people of Imo State. The evidence is everywhere in Imo State. There are some roads that were not motorable five years ago,  there  are some streets that have been abandoned 20 years ago, they are all motorable now. When you give people hospitals that function,  schools that function etc,  you are expanding the wealth unknown to people. 

We have heard you say that this government is attracting investors that  will establish industries in the state. We also heard such during the past administrations. Tell us,  when will these things be? 

You know,  Rome was not built in a day. What I am telling you is the trajectory of events. I visited South Korea,  met a lot of CEOs of various industries for two weeks and came back with copious reports. They have visited Imo State and that was when they unfolded all they will do in Imo State. 

So, the issue is, as soon as the requirements in the aspect of giving them the land that they require to build a city is done, then they will come. To be honest, coincidentally speaking, I spoke with their CEO just like one hour ago before your arrival here. What they told us is that they are ready to come. So we are not here to shout like job,  job,  job and industry,  industry, industry and at the end you see none. We are telling you that this thing is going on,  it is happening,  it is unfolding. So we are not playing politics, we are talking of real things. 

Even when the road infrastructure started, some people were talking about a lot  of things they wanted to say. But today,  I think the narrative has changed. So when these projects start you will see them. In the Government House, they are the ones that told us that these projects will create more than 500,000 jobs over a period of 12 to 16 years of building the projects but it will commence with the administration of Hope Uzodinma.

This ministry has the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of the budgets of other ministries. Will you say that your ministry is living up to its expectations? And are you satisfied with the funding of the ministries ?

Yes. And monitoring and evaluation are parts of the requirements and responsibilities of this ministry. It is not only making budgets, making economic plans based on statistics. I will answer the question in an unbiased form in the sense that when we do our quarterly monitoring, when we do quarterly budget monitoring performance, we send it to the World Bank for them to evaluate  and re-evaluate what we have claimed  that as a state we have done which is in line with budgetary process. 

And under the same SFTAS that I have told  you before, the World Bank measures all the claims the state has made, according to the ministries, MDAs; what they have done. And what they do to each state is that once everything you claimed is in tandem with what is in the budget, there is a fund they release. And that fund is N150 million. And since 2020, I will tell you, it’s on record, Imo State has never missed one. So every quarter, this ministry brings N150 million, a grant again,  based on proper budgeting and evaluation. 

So, if the World Bank looks at what we have done in each quarter and rewards us financially, that it has been done in line with budgetary assumptions and estimates,  that means it is an objective evaluation. Because nobody will give you money if you are doing the wrong thing. I tell you,  since we started this thing in 2020, Imo State has never missed any quarter where it didn’t get N150 million from  the World Bank.