Against the backdrop of several political and
socio-economic problems facing the Nigeria economy, government decided to
fashion out a way to curtail the excessive expenditures that is characterized
with the paper service. In the words of Ekaette, (2003), in
a paper presented on waste control, discipline and monetization of fringe
benefit, the immediate past government under the leadership of President
Olusegun Obasanjo has come to realize that public officers had been extravagant
in the spending of public funds. It has been discovered that such funds they
usually spent are in the provision of enormous task of contending leaves little
for capital project. However, it realizes that no government can function
properly without a bureaucratic system of carrying out government activities in
place.
Since public service is inevitable,
government decided to seek for a possible means of reducing unnecessary rising
cost of running government business. It was the realization of this goals
that prompted government to introduce the issue of monetization policy.
THE
CONCEPT OF MONETIZATION
Monetization generally according to
wikipedia the free encyclopedia (2002) is the process of converting or
establishing something into legal tender. It usually refers to the printing of
bank notes by central banks, but things such as gold, silver, diamonds can also
be monetized.
Though there are many types of
monetization which includes debt monetization, business monetization, but the
one applicable to Nigeria is the monetization of allowance and fringe benefits.
Monetization of benefit according to
Ekaette (2003) entails the reduction of all non-monetary allowances or fringe
benefits, such as accommodation, cars, furniture to eligible officers, whereby
some predetermined sum of money, regarded as the equivalent to such benefits
are paid to the officers in lieu of such benefits.
In the words of Adeyemi (2004:31) “I
have a problem of whether this agenda of monetization could be part of the
imported idea from the World Bank and IMF as an agenda because, I also believe,
never mind all that has been said”. He further stated that, I am convinced that
our economic polices are being dictated from the World Bank and IMF.
Agu (2003) observed that the country
was not ripe for such a policy because of lack of effective mortgage system in
the country. He was of the opinion that government should be very careful in
borrowing a system that works in developed countries where houses and
infrastructures were already in place.
Freddy (2004) viewed the
monetization policy as a move to reduce the cost of running government. As far
as he knew, the monetization policy would introduce elimination of wastage of
government owned property, the huge cost on hotel accommodations. He further states
that the monetization policy was vital in effecting changes in the entire
structure of the development of Nigeria public service, human resources and the
general economy.
According to Onu (2006),
monetization policy is the process of converting fringe benefits attached to
workers salaries into cash incentives. It is the quantification in money terms
of those fringe benefits which government used to provide for its workers as
part of their conditions of service, such as utility allowances, leave
allowances, motor vehicle allowances, accommodation allowances, medical,
furniture and domestic servants allowances etc.
Eke (2007), noted that monetization
is a policy which trice to minimize waste, missus and abuse of public
facilities, corrupt practices was an endemic problem in the public service,
which were also perpetrated through over-invoicing and submission of spurious
bill, high maintenances cost, outright money laundry and general absence of
accountability and probity.
IMPACT
OF MONETIZATION POLICY ON WORKERS PRODUCTIVITY IN NIGERIA, A STUDY OF EBONYI
STATE MINISTRY OF SOLID MINERALS