Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, has tasked officials of the bank and other government functionaries to be prudent in the management of public funds, against the backdrop of current economic challenges confronting the nation.
He spoke at the Regional Workshop on Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation Using Result-Based Management Framework, organised by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), in Abuja.
Cardoso represented by Deputy Director of the Monetary Policy Department, CBN, Dr. Yusuf Bulus said the workshop was a necessity as resources are increasingly becoming inadequate to address economic emerging challenges.
The apex bank boss noted that managing scarce resources has become necessary in a tight fiscal environment characterised by growing human conflicts, geoeconomic fragmentation, cost-of-living crunch, and climate change, amongst others.
According to him, these conditions have put pressure on public finances and governments have to implement fiscal measures to balance competing priorities with available resources.
He also noted that institutions lack the capacity, knowledge, in-house expertise to be able to effectively measure project outcomes; hence, the importance of this training workshop.
Cardoso assured that organisations can collect and analyse data, and determine if a project or programme has fulfilled its goals.
He said, “The monitoring and evaluation framework is the foundation of any development project and is key to its successful implementation in achieving the envisaged project goals and objectives. Starting a project without one is akin to starting a business without enough financial resources”.