The Federal Government has been advised to implement palliatives for low-income earners by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.
The institute made this statement in response to the $800 million World Bank loan from the federal government.
In an 11-point action-plan communiqué, it gave the government advice on the necessity of implementing reliable palliatives to mitigate the impact on the most vulnerable population outside the civil service.
ICAN recommended that the government use the money saved by not subsidising palliatives.
“The government needs to introduce credible palliatives to cushion the impact on the most vulnerable population outside of the civil service,” it was stated in the report. In this regard, the government should create and implement palliatives for low-income earners, particularly in cities and towns where the cost of living will rise much more rapidly.
It needs to implement measures to lower the price of food and transportation. Palliatives ought to be used both at the sub-national and national levels. In order to prevent the reintroduction of another type of subsidy, care should be taken to estimate the cost of the palliatives to be introduced.
Here, chartered accountants are required. We oppose the borrowing of $800 million for palliative care when the money saved by the removal of the subsidy could be used for this, sparing the nation from more debt and rising debt service costs.
A palliative for SMEs, according to the chartered accountants, might be to delay the recently enacted tax increases in exchange for tax breaks and infrastructure investments.
