Ezekwesili Advises Nigeria’s Next President to Launch Macroeconomic Consolidation Programme
Harps on need for structural reforms
Ahead of the 2023 general election, the Convener/Chairman, FixPolitics, and Founder School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG), Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili has advised the incoming the president to launch a macroeconomic consolidation programme to re-balance the economy.
She said this was important in order to tackle the present realities in the economy such as interest rate, forex and commodity pricing.
Ezekwesili, who disclosed this yesterday, at the 5th Anniversary of the Caladium Lagos SME Boot Camp organised in partnership with fedhaGap, said the macroeconomic consolidation programme she proposed would be tough economic policy measures that would bring some level of hardship, which would last for a short period of time, adding that such policy would greatly reposition the economy and place it on the path of growth.
“If the person who will be our president really does the right things about the economy, Nigerians should prepare themselves for difficult times maybe for the first one year of the administration.
“There is nothing in African or Nigeria economy that puts us in the realm of exceptionalism,” she stated.
She remarked that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted to 2.25 per cent as a result of the effects of inflation, and foreign exchange pricing, “because when you denominate in naira, you have to convert into current price levels.”
Ezekwesili further explained that in terms of economic growth, three things are happening: forex, inflation and economic growth levels are having impacts - stating that the three were affecting the pace at which the economy was expanding.
“It means that as our GDP is contracting, we are not growing as we should,” she added.
The former World Bank vice president, advised the federal government to put in place measures to kick start economic growth, through sound monetary policy, fiscal policies combined to giving back macroeconomic stability.
She added: “You need macroeconomic stability which means less inflation, less variability in exchange rate, the type of challenges we have with access to foreign exchange rate.
“There are many sectors that need serious reforms in order to enable them function and create the impetus for economic activities within them. Whether you are talking about health, education, power, aviation, tourism and agriculture, they need structural reforms.
“Structural reforms are critical for growth. You need to have more friendly environment in terms of regulation, (regulatory framework and bureaucracy) that stands on the way that prevents businesses from being productive should be addressed, because they matter at jumpstarting growth from a level that is sufficient to enable the expansion of the economy, not just contraction of the GDP.