ECIAfrica

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Removing obstacles that hinder the ability of Nigeria's non-oil economy to grow and compete in an increasingly global marketplace

With its return to democracy, Nigeria has moved to the forefront of the African renaissance; now it must lead by example in the economic and social spheres. Over the past few years, Nigerian authorities have taken major steps to create a strategic framework for the federal budget, guide line ministries in charge of delivering services, and open federal procurement to competition.

REFORMS is designed to support the government's National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) goals: wealth creation, employment generation, poverty reduction, and value reorientation. The NEEDS policy reform goals address the following key obstacles: poverty and inequality, weak public sectors, poor economic management, and an unfavourable environment for broad-based, private sector-led economic growth.

The REFORMS programme aims to improve the policy environment and address major impediments to economic growth in Nigeria. Programme components include: 1) budgetary process and procurement oversight; 2) capacity building for Government of Nigeria institutions and civil society organisations involved in these policy process; and 3) implementation of policy reforms in key sectors.

ECIAfrica's partner, DAI, is building on that success by deepening budget reform, expanding it to selected states, preparing key institutions in government and civil society to play an effective role, and supporting policy reform to make it easier for private enterprise - primarily small and medium-sized enterprises—to respond to new opportunities and challenges. As a subcontractor to DAI, ECIAfrica provides short-term technical assistance to monitor the evolving capacity of State Budget Offices benefiting from the programme. ECIAfrica is replicating and tailoring an innovative capacity index, developed under other U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded programs in Eastern Europe, to the Nigeria context. The tool is used to select participating States and establish a baseline across indicators against which State Budget Offices' performance can be measured over time.

Nigeria

July 2005-July 2009

Client:

U.S. Agency for International Development

Contact:

Paul Jackson

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