At the meeting which held at the National Assembly, Lagarde stated some important facts that most Nigerians should be aware of.
Some of those points. Read excerpts below.
1.The IMF staff estimates that regional economic growth dropped from 5 percent in 2014 to about 3.8 percent last year, with only a modest recovery expected in 2016.
2. Growth is affected by three major economic transitions. They include China’s move to a new growth model, the prospect of commodity prices remaining lower for longer, and the increasing divergence in monetary policy in major economies, especially since the recent rise in U.S. interest rates.
3. Over the medium term, oil prices are likely to remain much lower than the 2010-13 average of more than $100 a barrel. Why? Because of the huge oversupply in global oil markets
4. Lower oil prices have sharply reduced Nigeria’s export earnings and government revenues. Both are likely to remain at depressed levels, reducing the space for policy interventions to address Nigeria’s social and infrastructure needs.
5. The first step is to broaden the tax base in Nigeria and reduce leakages is by improving compliance and enhancing collection efficiency.
6. Nigeria should build resilience by making careful decisions on borrowing. Nigeria’s debt is relatively low at about 12 percent of GDP, but it weighs heavily on the public purse. Already, about 35 kobo of every naira collected by the federal government is used to service outstanding public debt.
7. Nigeria should exercise restraint by focusing on the quality and efficiency of every naira spent. This is critically important. As more people pay taxes there will, rightly, be increasing pressure to demonstrate that those tax payments are producing improvements in public service delivery.
8. Fuel subsidies are hard to defend. Not only do they harm the planet, but they rarely help the poor. IMF research shows that more than 40 per cent of fuel price subsidies in developing countries accrue to the richest 20 per cent of households, while only 7 per cent of the benefits go to the poorest 20 per cent.
9. Nigeria should manage the smaller purse, while building capacity to increase internally generated revenue.
10. Maternal mortality is relatively high because of limited access to health care. Many women and children are dying every day simply because they cannot get to medical facilities fast enough
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