.Seeks members’ inclusion in governance
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has urged the Federal Government to deploy both monetary and fiscal policies in addressing inflation rate in the country.
President of ICAN, Dr lnnocent Okwuosa, who gave the charge, yesterday, during a chat with journalists in Lagos, said that the Federal Government should establish a ‘Monetary and Fiscal Committee,’ whose members should meet regularly, brainstorm and determine a prompt combination of measures to deploy in reducing inflation.
Okwuosa said food is a major cause of inflation as farmers could no longer go to the farm due to heightened insecurity.
He, therefore, stressed the need to motivate farmers to go back to farm by improving security and supporting them with mechanised tools.
He said: “The simplest thing the government should do is to improve support to farmers and increase food production. The increase by 400 basis points of the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) shows that the government made the right decision, but we cannot rely on monetary policy alone. There should be a combination of monetary policy and fiscal policy to reduce inflation.
“The government should consider the capital market as an alternative rather than borrowing from an international finance institution.”
The ICAN president also blamed lack of accountability and transparency in governance as the root causes of all issues affecting the country, saying that if the nation can institute the right accountability and transparency index, the citizens’ trust in governance will increase.
“Lack of accountability and transparency and others are responsible for infrastructure deficits,” he said.
Okwuosa, who lamented non-recognition of professional accountants in governance, said: “The Federal Government should utilise professional accountants on the issue of governance. They have a lot to offer in budget monitoring, capacity development, budget execution and for the government to have improved results.”
