The new policy rolled out by the federal government to the effect that ministers and permanent secretaries will no longer travel with first class air tickets while embarking on officials trips as part of the effort to cut cost of governance, is not only timely and sensible but will also provide a leeway for the Muhammadu Buhari administration to cope with dwindling revenue occasioned by falling crude oil prices at the international market.
It said henceforth, all top officials of government such as ministers, permanent secretaries, chairmen of federal government committees, as well as chairmen and chief executives of parastatals and agencies are to travel on business class.
Media Adviser to the Finance Minister, Mr. Festus Akanbi, who announced the new policy in Abuja last week, said others that would no longer benefit from the first class are chairmen of federal government committees as well as chairmen and chief executives of parastatals and agencies.
It said all the affected officials would now be restricted to the business class for their local and international travels as against what obtained in the past, where some government officials who should have been on business class, instead travelled first class, while many others travelled business class instead of the economy ticket.
This was part of the recommendations by the Efficiency Unit of the Federal Ministry of Finance to cut travel expenditure by about 20 per cent. The recommendations were as a result of the review of the provisions of some extant government circulars on overhead expenses on official travels.
The review was carried out in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).
Among other measures to reduce government’s huge expenditure on travels, government said it had negotiated for discounts with local and international airlines for its officials. Already, about 11 airlines were said to have offered discounts ranging from seven per cent to 50 per cent on local and international routes for travel by top government officials, while negotiations are ongoing with others.
The unit said the new arrangement would reduce air travels expenditure by public officials by about N13.88 billion this year, using the N69.417 billion figure incurred on travels in 2014. In the past, some government officials who should have been on business class usually travelled on first class, while many others travelled business class instead of economy class.
Akanbi stated that in its negotiation for discounts with local and international airlines, the E-UNIT also recommended other measures for reducing the government’s large expenditure on travels to the OSGF.
The second recommendation is on the need to reduce the frequency of travels by ensuring that board and committee events such as meetings, workshops and conferences in Nigeria are held in locations where the institutions or persons participating in the event are domiciled.
It is estimated that travel expenditure will drop by about 20 per cent if the provisions of the new circular issued by the OSGF are fully implemented, the statement pointed out. A 20 per cent reduction in air travel expenditure, using the figure of N69.417 billion incurred on travels in 2014 will result in a cost-cutting of N13.88 billion.
Such large savings from air travels, which should ordinarily not be a major expense item for the government, will become available for investment in capital projects such as roads, power, railways and public health facilities.
Other overhead expenditures reviewed by the unit included those on refreshments and meals, honorarium and sitting allowances as well as advertising and publicity. These measures, the unit explained, will standardize spending on these items, cut costs and promote transparency.
The second recommendation bordered on the need to reduce the frequency of travels by ensuring that board and committee events, such as meetings, workshops and conferences in Nigeria are held in locations where the institutions or persons participating are domiciled.
Blueprint lauds the Buhari government’s initiatives at ensuring transparency and accountability in governance which hitherto had been the bane of the nation’s economy, resulting largely in the massive corruption that had crippled socio-economic and political development of Nigeria. We warn, however, that as worthwhile as these cost-saving measures are they could fall prey to the Nigerian factor, thereby defeating government’s objective. Therefore, we advise the federal government to enact appropriate legislation that will deal decisively with violators of the new policy on travel cost reduction.
