SAFAR 25 1431 A.H.
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2010.
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Monetisation balance will be paid soon - Labour minister
The minister of labour and productivity, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, has said that the 50 per cent monetisation arrears owed parastatal agencies will be paid immediately the budget is released.
Answering questions at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum on Sunday in Abuja, Kayode said: ``As far as I am concerned the issue of monetisation arrears payment is settled.
“The balance will be paid this year immediately the budget is released and of course subject to funds management.
``I expect that even if there will be a pro rata instalmental payment, it will be done with all sense of responsibility, so that at least immediately the budget is approved, people will start drawing down on those funds.’’
The minister said the government considered the monetisation arrears as money already spent and that it would be paid as quickly as possible.
Kayode pointed out that, according to the constitution, the welfare of every Nigerian individual was the sole purpose of governance.
He said that since his appointment as the Minister of Labour, he has worked closely with the National Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) to get a draft National Social Security Policy.
``The National Social Security Policy is designed to capture all non-pension, non-health social security schemes as it is being done all over the world.
`` Today we have a draft National Social Security Policy, and we are just trying to get stakeholders’ buy-in before we present it to the National Assembly and to FEC.
`` So we are working hard to see how we can provide safety nets, especially in this time of economic meltdown when a lot of people are falling through the cracks,’’ he said.
The minister further said that there was a need for government to have the courage to implement policies that would impact on its people with little concern given to cost.
`` My thinking is that we must start from somewhere; we cannot afford to be either negative or insistent that this is not possible.
`` I think what we need to do is have the courage to implement policies that would impact on our people and we should not be concerned much about the cost. As far as I am concerned, there are so many areas where we can mop up cost to help.
``So government has the duty to implement policies that can take care of its people. We are doing something about that and the policy, before the end of this year, should be approved and we can start on a pilot basis and see how it goes,’’ Kayode added.
