The
Federal Government has banned the purchase and distribution of
conference bags, T-shirts and other souvenirs at events such as
Conferences and Seminars funded by Federal Ministries, Departments and
Agencies (MDAs). This is contained in a statement made available to
newsmen in Abuja by the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of
Finance, Salisu Dambatta today July 31st.
According
to the statement, the ban was in continuation of the on-going
cost-cutting and efficiency drive in the utilization of public funds by
the present administration. The statement reads in part
“The
directive which is a recognition of the fact that in a period of lean
financial resources unnecessary expenditure on overheads such souvenirs
are luxuries that the government must eliminate.
This
will enable release of funds for infrastructure and services such as
health and education that would have direct positive impact on the well
being of the citizenry and promote economic development. The directive
also contained specific guidelines that would reduce the cost of
printing Invitation Cards, Programme of events, Brochures, Folders and
Note Pads. Among the guidelines are that they should be in black and
white and limited to only one page and in the case of Brochures they
should be streamlined to contain only essential information”it said.Also, the statement said the printing of unnecessary publications and
books of short shelf life which have no real value to the concerned
public institutions or the citizens has also been banned.“MDAs were encouraged to save costs by uploading such publications on
their websites which has the added benefit of wider visibility” the
statement read
