Ms Patience Oniha, Director-General, Debt Management Office, Nigeria<br />
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has re-established a predictable timeline in the release of its report on the nation’s debt profile, a routine that has now become consistent for the better part of the last three years.
This is an improvement from records in the past when the report are delayed for more than six months and sometimes, nine months, which created huge information gap and cause for speculations.
In the last five quarters, the report has been released within three months after each quarter on consistent basis, although it is still long, but now predictable.“This will help in making investment decisions at all levels, adequate planning and where needed, forecasting, particularly about government’s debt plans. The country is the biggest spender in this economy, so details like these must be handy,” a financial market analyst said.
Meanwhile, the debt manager has assured that the country’s borrowings are following a well thought-out Debt Management Strategy, which spans through December 2019.
The assurance may have put to rest the fears among many Nigerians that the country is just borrowing without direction, although anxiety persists over the debts’ sustainability.
The Director-General of DMO, Ms Patience Oniha, who made the declaration in a statement made available to The Guardian, said the document is also available online for avoidance of doubt.
According to her, the Federal Government is implementing the nation’s debt management strategy in full, while DMO is currently finalizing works on the institution’s new Strategic Plan. Similarly, DMO chief has clarified that there is a difference between Debt Management Strategy and the DMO’s Strategic Plan, which is just the statement of the agency’s goals and objectives, as well as the activities that will enable their achievements. “It covers issues such as human resources, technology, and market development, among others.
This contrasts very sharply with the Public Debt Management Strategy, which is entirely about the strategies for managing the public debt to ensure that borrowing is prudent and the public debt is sustainable,” she said. She pointed out that a robust Strategic Plan became necessary due to developments in the macro-economy, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and the need to come up with creative ways to fund the government in the face of lower Revenues.
Source: G Business
