BARRING any lastminute change indecision, the Federal Government is to commence fund raising from Nigerians outside the shores of the country to develop some of the critical sectors in the economy.To this end, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has said that the agency is currently making necessary implementation designs and appropriate vehicles for attracting funds from diaspora with the hope of investing it in critical national development projects.According to the DMO Director General, Mr. Abraham Nwankwo, would be used to fund projects such as housing, power generation distribution, agriculture, healthcare, education and specialised training institutions, among others.The DMO DG, who spoke at a breakfast meeting with media executives, last Thursday, noted that the move, beyond being a call to patriotism, would also enable Nigerians abroad participate in the growth and development of the country.Besides this, he said, the idea would involve investors taking control of the process, free of governments interference, adding that government would only provide the necessary environment, including the legal framework that would guarantee the investment. The government, he assured, was willing to take investors as development partners, being confident that expertise across the world would come into play, since the investors were relieving it of the task of providing those infrastructure through the capital market.It is their own equity contribution, their own investment and fears about the possibility of their fingers being burnt (as it did following the stock market meltdown) does not arise, even while they are still taking some kind of risk in this case. They are not lending to government, but pooling resources together to solve some of the nations critical infrastructural deficiencies. We are encouraging them to use the opportunity to invest for themselves and by themselves. This comes with its own challenges, he stressed.Such collaboration which arose from feedback during the two interactive sessions held with Nigerian in diaspora in the past, while promoting greater participation in the domestic bond market, Nwankwo noted, was another way of encouraging the private sector to seek development funds. This will also further help to make governments debt sustainable in the medium to long-term.Presenting a speech Past, present and future of Nigerias public debt management, the DMO boss noted that managing debt across the world was a very delicate matter and a double-edged sword because when the bond proceeds are well utilised the people gain, and if otherwise, the people lose and still bear the burden of servicing and repaying the debt.Debt is not something that you handle casually, but surviving is about managing risks. Government appreciates that borrowing could be tricky, hence the current efforts to improve debt management skills and knowledge across the various segments of the country, he explained.The DMO, he continued, had continued to conduct debt sustainability analysis on a quarterly and yearly basis, as part of efforts to boost confidence and reduce innate fear of borrowing among the various arms of government, their ministries, departments and agencies.
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