The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) with support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has set up a fiscal monitoring framework, a soft tool expected to help raise its oversight efficiency.
The critical infrastructure which comes 15 years after the Commission’s establishment will no doubt relief staff who have had to carry out oversight roles with limited templates.
A statement issued by Head of Strategic Communications, Bede Anyanwu, said the critical infrastructure was set up following approval by the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed.
The setup came into effect after two weeks of intensive training and engagement with the management and senior technical staff of the FRC by IMF. The IMF Mission was led by Sybi Hida, a senior economist in the Fiscal Affairs Department of the Fund.
Delighted at the significance and content of the training and the framework deployed, the Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Victor Muruako said: “We have concluded that amongst all manpower development support and interventions that the Commission has enjoyed since its establishment over a decade ago, this IMF mission is certainly the most impactful, combining elements of strategy meetings, organisational self-discovery sessions, training and ecosystem development.
“This is, literally speaking, the template which the Commission never had at its inception.” Muruako recalled that, at inception, the Commission was handed a new mandate without corresponding templates, guidelines, handover notes or depth of access to requisite manpower development.
Hence, the pioneer staff, being new in the fiscal responsibility monitoring and enforcement space, found themselves doing the work of both visionaries and operators.
“Often times,” the chairman said, “the scenario looked like we were building an airplane, while at the same time, flying it. Thank God, we have been successful at both.”
