Mounting Debt, Poverty Profile, Unemployment: Group Fingers CSOs, Planning Officers, Bank Policies

From Chuks Collins, Awka

March 6,2014

A non-governmental Organization (NGO) -the Civil Rights Concern (CRC) has taken found a correlation between the increasing mass unemployment, high debt profile and widespread poverty in Anambra State to Planning officers, bank policies and Civil Societies Organizations. 

Also, the CRC noted that key stakeholders and citizens have not lived up to their duties in monitoring actively what governments at various levels do with funds, especially the series of huge loans they have been taking. 

CRC, in an engagement seminar with Stakeholders including media practitioners in Awka, Anambra State, her Executive Director (ED) Mr Okey Onyeka harped on the need to find a lasting solution to the hydra headed issue of unemployment, increasing debt profile and increasing poverty in the country in general and South East in particular.

According to him, the need to engage them has become imperative because it is a paradox that poverty and unemployment levels would be increasing simultaneously with the mounting debt profile. This was where it was anticipated to be the other way round. 

Mr Onyeka observed that effort of the government to inject more money into the economy through loans so as to stimulate production, job creation and business expansion has not really worked in our situation. This was because our banks were found to shy away from lending to the real sector, instead they tend to lend to the government where repayment plan was almost sacrosanct unlike the private sector which road was fraught with uncertainties. 

Consequently, the interaction with the planning officers according to the CRC boss would help them be more careful in whatever they articulate and put into the state/national budget proposals.

Mr Onyeka pointed out that it has become a common occurrence in the South East to have huge gap between Capital Expenditures and Recurrent Expenditures. 

"We put this engagement together to open the eyes of the people to know what is happening in the South East states especially, as poverty level has continued to grow yet debt profile is also increasing.

"The implication of the above is that the loans obtained by various governments in the zone are not effectively used to create wealth. If past and present administrations have been using borrowed monies for capital expenditure, poverty level would have reduced considerably. 

"Ndi-Igbo don't beg, government at all levels should do everything in their powers to prevent pushing them into unnecessary poverty and begging for survival," he warned. 

He stated that the issue of increasing debt and poverty profiles will be checkmated if all the loans taken by the duty bearers were judiciously utilized and closely monitored. 

The CRC, he added, will continue to sensitize the public through the media and regular positive engagement with critical stakeholders so as to ignite their interest in installing budget discipline in government officials through close monitoring and speaking out whenever not satisfied or clear.  

"We are working towards ensuring that government make public, information on the loans obtained on a website, so that individuals can go there and see things for themselves.

"Borrowed money should be used to build capacity and create wealth, not consumed. In doing this, the government should discuss with the people before going for any loan.