The loan was approved by the Board of the Bank on Wednesday.
Nigeria, on Wednesday, secured a N45 billion loan from the African Development Bank Group.
The loan is to support the Federal Government’s economic governance and infrastructure development agenda under the Jonathan administration’s transformation programme.
The facility authorised by the Board of the regional finance bank in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, is to finance the transport sector and economic governance reform programme and Nigeria’s Country Strategy Paper! CSP, for 2013 to 2017.
The loan is packaged to support the government’s effort to accelerate reform implementation in the areas of transport sector governance and public expenditure management.
The reform measures include the establishment of a Federal Road Authority, National Road Maintenance Fund, Road-Tolling Policy, and Axel Load Control Policy.
In the areas of public financial management reform, the programme involves the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards, IPSAS; Internal Audit Modernization Plan; Treasuring Single Account, TSA; Government Integrated Public Financial Management, GIFMIS; and Transparency and Compliance in Procurement and Audit Practices.
The programme is expected to also create fiscal space for increased investment in road infrastructure development. It is an integral part of a broader set of interventions of the Bank designed to support Nigeria’s Transformation Agenda with emphasis to economic governance and infrastructure development.
The Country Strategy Paper outlines the Bank’s engagement and assistance to Nigeria, adding that it would focus on two strategic pillars: supporting the development of a sound policy environment, and investing in critical infrastructure to promote the development of the real sector of the economy.
The strategy is aimed at aligning with the Nigerian government’s long term development agenda.
Critics of the Jonathan administration have made reference to Nigeria’s increasing debt profile and continuous borrowing without a commensurate improvement in infrastructure and standard of living of Nigerians.
Source: Premium Times
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