File
Photo: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Christine
Lagarde (C) shakes hand with President Jonathan after their meeting with
Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (R) in Abuja.
Vanguard
Efforts of the Nigerian delegation to the 2013 World Bank /International Monetary Fund, IMF, meetings in Washington D.C, have started yielding positive results as the World Bang group has agreed to mobilize global funds for Nigeria’s power infrastructure development.
The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who led the Nigerian delegation to the meetings told newsmen, yesterday, that the organisation was planning to set up a global infrastructure fund and that Nigeria would be one of the first beneficiaries.
According to her, the bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, IFC, would not only provide its funds but act as a catalyst for other foreign direct investment funds into the nation’s power sector.
Her words, ‘the World Bank Group, that is the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, IFC, mega, through the World Bank president has said that they want Nigeria to be one of the focus countries in sub-Saharan African for their efforts on infrastructure, particularly on power, which means that they are willing to work with Nigeria to invest hundreds of millions of dollars.
“They want to concentrate on power, and they are already actively working with several private companies that want to work in Nigeria. They are also promising to give us another $700 million IBRD guarantees for the power sector as well as willing to invest $700 million in transmission.”
Budget 2013 on course
The minister who also spoke on the 2013 budget, said it was on course and that reports of its failure were false
According her, “we have spoken to the National Assembly on amendments and they have done something and we have decided to continue to implement.
“Please 2013 budget is being implemented, what is being perpetrated by some sections of the press that somehow the 2013 budget has fallen apart and not implemented is false.
“This budget is being implemented, it still has some issues here and there but we’ve decided to go ahead to find a solution.”
SWF to fund second Niger Bridge
The minister whose delegation included the Managing Director, MD, of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Mr. Uche Orji, also disclosed that her team held several consultations with international investors and portfolio managers to enable them invest in Nigeria through the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Fund.
According to her, the NSIA had been talking with IFC and looking at various infrastructure projects, including the Second Niger Bridge, which has been identified as very commercially viable.
She added that the board was also looking at other projects such as dams and irrigation in the northern part of the country, which could boost the job creation and strengthen the wealth creation programmes of the present administration.
“That’s going on, they are talking with IFC and IFC might co–invest with them, other Sovereign Wealth Funds are also looking to co-invest and they are also looking at pulling our pension fund.
Social safety nets
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was optimistic that the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration would play more active roles in social safety nets, in line with the World Bank’s renewed push towards global poverty eradication.
She disclosed that the government was already running the maternal and child health programme under which pregnant women were not only being encouraged to take advantage of free medical care but even paid a stipend when they delivered in health centres across the nation.
She said: “The programme under conditional cash transfer would be used to scale up the project on cash transfer in education in Kano State to improve the number of out of school children, especially the girls.”
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