YOU ARE WRONG, ECONOMY IS IMPROVING —OKONJO-IWEALA

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has provided a detailed report on the nation’s economy in her 102-page response to the 50 questions posed by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on 2014 budget.
The document, according to Mr Paul C Nwabuikwu, Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance provides details on the performance of the economy with tables and graphs as answers to the committee’s well publicised 50 questions.
In her response, the minister faulted the House Committee’s position on all nations’ economy stressing that it is improving despite contrary claims by the House Committee members.
In her response, the minister stressed that the Nigerian economy was showing real and measurable progress in many areas stating that this could be seen in the number of many jobs created as well as roads, rail and other infrastructure that were being improved. She added that the country was saving for the future and planning better for the present.
“The Jonathan administration, contrary to the impression given by some critics, is making impact in the areas that, according to credible opinion polls, Nigerians are most passionate about.’ She said.
On job creation which is a central focus of the administration, she said a total of 1.6 million jobs were created last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of which 250,000 were seasonal jobs created in dry season farming in 10 northern states. In manufacturing, the Onne Oil and Gas Free zone created an estimated 30,000 direct and indirect jobs.
‘The government special intervention programme YouWin supported young entrepreneurs, creating over 18,000 jobs. The SURE-P Community Services prgramme has also created 120,000 job opportunities.’ She disclosed.
She said “The improvement in federal highways has been confirmed by many Nigerians who travelled over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Key highways which have witnessed significant progress include Kano-Maiduguri road, the Abuja-Lokoja road, the Apapa-Oshodi road, the Onitsha-Enugu-Port-Harcourt road and the Benin-Ore-Shagamu road. Preliminary work has commenced on Lagos-Ibadan road and the Second Niger Bridge. ”
“The Railway Modernisation Programme involving the construction of standard gauge lines is underway. The 1,124 km Western line linking Lagos and Kano is now functional while work on the Eastern line linking Port Harcourt to Maiduguri is about 36 per cent complete. The Abuja-Kaduna Standard Gauge line has attained 68 per cent completion, and the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Line which is presently 77 per cent completed, will be completed next year. The annual passenger traffic on our railways has increased steadily: rising from 1 million in 2011 to 5 million in 2013.’
One of the issues that the country is racking up debts under her watch as Finance Minister, she said there was no substance to the charge.
“In fact, the opposite is true. Right from my Senate confirmation hearing in 2011, I had identified rising debt as a major challenge which the country needs to confront.”
Source: Tribune