Nigeria’s Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has expressed optimism that the country’s economy was on the path to more development, as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has shows an average seven percent growth rate consistently in the past ten years.
The private Guardian Tuesday quoted the minister to have said, at an investment forum Monday, that the existing growth was in contrast with an average of 2.4 per cent recorded over the previous ten years.
She said the administration had succeeded in reducing the recurrent expenditure in the 2013 fiscal plan to 68 per cent, against 71 per cent in 2012.
The minister also said plans were underway to bridge the widening gap of inequality in income distribution.
She said rising unemployment, inequality – uneven distribution of wealth and widening gap between the haves and have-nots – had become a national worry.
“We are not minimising our challenges. What we are saying is that the present administration is worried about the issues and working hard to fix them. Some of our challenges are global in nature, even the United States (U.S.) and Europe are going through them now.
The minister said the new strategies adopted to address the economy problem include ensuring the fiscal consolidation and growth, less borrowing, increased spending and investments into areas of challenges.
She said the main target is to reduce recurrent expenditure to 65 or 60 per cent by 2015.
