By Prince Okafor
THE Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, has appraised the 2017 fiscal policy with concern over unfavourable policy environment and implementation capacity.

In its 2017 Macroeconomic Outlook released, Wednesday, the group stated: “Presently there are uncertainties around the macroeconomic policy choices and this could spring further surprises in 2017.”

While appreciating the government’s firepower for fiscal stimulus in the year as shown the N7.3 trillion budget size, the group said there was no doubt that the policy response will be a key force in 2017 and a prime determinant of economic recovery.

However, it stated: “Yet there are uncertainties around how the implementation will play out. The limitation of policy choices could derail the recovery and create new concerns for the Nigerian economy.”

Further amplifying this position the outlook stated: “On the first note, the growth enhancing stimulus would require that the interest rate is adjusted downwards to a business friendly level in order to spur credit growth and economic activity. However, the CBN’s ability to react appears to be limited considering the fact that the bank’s first point of call is to keep inflation at bay and ensure price stability. This will remain a conundrum for the CBN in 2017.”

As a way forward, the outlook report stated: “we propose the strengthening of development finance institutions to support businesses on a wide-scale.

In the 2017 Budget, the government has expressed commitment to recapitalize the Bank of Agriculture and Bank of Industry with N15 billion and hasten the process to start the Development Bank of Nigeria.

On this NESG stated: “While we note that this is a welcome development, we propose that its implementation be prioritized in the year.”