Benue State University, Makurdi

BEST PRACTICES AND BUDGET EXECUTION IN BENUE STATE NIGERIA: A LOGISTIC APPROACH

Andohol Jerome Ph.D

Abstract

Best practices ensure that the interactive processes and procedures of planned goals and their implementation do not deviate so far from each other. A review of budgeting principles, budget execution processes and the challenges facing developing economies in budget execution are articulated and documented in this paper. A survey approach with questions formatted after the CABRI (Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative) 2008 survey was adopted for this work. The use of percentages, descriptive statistics and Logistic Regression are used as tools of analysis. The findings indicated that fiscal transparency index for the State stands at 30% with the overall Best practice for budget execution for the State weighted at 40%, which is 11% higher than the National index, weighted at 29% as computed by the International Budget Partnership body in their measurement of the nation‟s Open Budget index (OBI). The reasons associated with the low performance of the fiscal transparency, fiscal reporting and off-budget spending among others includes; delay in the preparation of final accounts, unqualified budget personnel officials, lack of genuine and independent audit team, marginal adjustments on proposed budget votes without actual costing and presenting them as new votes for passage into Law, bureaucratic and political demand of „kick-backs‟ at various stages of contract execution and payments. In this connection, it is advised that the State should improve in the areas of Fiscal transparency, Fiscal reporting and off-budget spending. The need to give the Medium Term Expenditure Framework ample room to express its strengths is a welcome development that can leverage the State‟s Fiscal space.

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