The World Bank Group says it will assist the 36 states government improve their fiscal sustainability by strengthening and consolidating the Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP).
The World Bank said this in a statement signed by the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr Salisu Dambatta in Abuja on Friday.
Dambatta in the statement said the World Bank was prepared to finance capacity building and provide technical support for officials in the 36 states.
“This will equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills to effectively manage the comprehensive implementation of the components of the FSP on a sustainable basis.
“The objective is to ensure that states are put on the path that would lead them out of the situation in which they have to be bailed out.
“The capacity building programme will impart skills that will contribute in the successful implementation of the Open Government Partnership commitments with the view to boosting the fiscal transparency and accountability,’’ he said.
It would be recalled that FSP was introduced by Federal Government to tackle the 2015-2016 fiscal crisis that followed the decline in revenue leading to two financial bailouts for the states by the Federal Government.
The Plan is also an instrument for reforming the whole gamut of the Public Sector Financial Management (PSFM) system spanning the three tiers of government.
The 22-point Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP) highlights five key strategic objectives, which is to improve accountability and transparency, increase public revenue and rationalise public expenditure.
The other objective is to improve public financial management and sustainable debt management. (NAN)
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