MINISTERS AND PERFORMANCE CONTRACT

A lot of Nigerians were pleasantly surprised to see federal ministers lined up before Mr President penultimate week, to sign what has been called a "Performance Contract" between them and the President. It was obvious that the ministers were in full agreement with the obligations imposed on them by the contract as it was not reported that any of them raised any objection or refused to sign the contract because of the attached conditions.
THE Performance Contract, drawn up by the National Planning Commission (NPC) contained measurable and verifiable benchmark performance indicators by which each minister can be monitored, assessed and evaluated in respect of the implementation of the Transformational Agenda of the President. Heads of parastatal agencies under each ministry were also expected to have signed relevant portions of the performance contract.
THE President himself assured the ministers during the signing ceremony that the purpose of the performance contract was not to 'witch-hunt' any minister but to basically provide an objective basis for evaluating their performance.
MANY Nigerians have spoken in support of the idea behind the performance contract. For the first time, it will keep the ministers on their toes as they become aware that they are being monitored and their performance assessed. It is presumed that the ministers will submit quarterly reports of their performance indicating the extent to which benchmark indicators for the quarter have been met.
THE Nigerian Tribune supports the principle of the Performance Contract. We are of the opinion that it should have come much earlier in the life of the administration so that like every other major appointments, Ministers were also given clear benchmark performance indicators at the time they accepted to serve. Each of them would have been fully aware of the standard of performance to which they would be held accountable.
SECOND, the Performance Contract, it is hoped, would also help to elevate the performance of the government, which many observers, have accused of being very slow in meeting the daunting challenges facing the country, including security, widespread poverty, unemployment, and decaying infrastructure. There is a general feeling that the promises made to Nigerians during the last Presidential campaigns by the President have remained largely  unfulfilled.
HOWEVER, there are also a number of issues that the Performance Contract has thrown up. First, will the benchmark performance indicators given to each minister be linked to the amount of resources and the timing and phasing of the release of the resources to them? It is obvious that unlike what is contained in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) that mandates both the Minister of Finance and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) to release schedules of warrant of release of funds to back approved budget, once the annual budget is approved, the reality is that release of capital votes, in particular, is at the discretion of the Minister of Finance. And even when the Minister of Finance approved release of funds, the OAGF may not release the cash backing on time. Hence, capital projects in the budget are haphazardly implemented, if implemented at all. Again, this is part of the reasons empirical findings have consistently shown that capital expenditure in Nigeria has no impact on economic performance. Will the Performance Contract reverse this trend?
SECOND, the Permanent Secretary effectively manages the civil servants in the ministry who are very critical to the successful implementation of the programmes and policies of the ministry. In many instances, the Ministers are nothing but the titular head of their ministries. How is this reality factored into the Performance Contracts of the Ministers?
THIRD, the Ministers, though appointed by the President are indirectly accountable to Nigerians who pay their salaries and various perquisites attach to their offices. We feel Nigerians should not be in the dark with respect to the benchmark performance criteria for each ministry. This will enable Nigerians to also be able to objectively assess the performance of the Ministers. In addition, Nigerians should have access to the quarterly reports submitted by the ministers. In our view, these will create the right pressures for the various ministers to raise the bar of their performances. Nigerians can then objectively categorise Ministers to those who are worthy to be retained in the cabinet and those that should be shown the door. In addition, Ministers will also know that their continuity in office is not a function of their 'godfather' but the quality of the service and sacrifice that they made to the Nigerian people in the discharge of their responsibilities.