Business
Kaduna Budgets N196bn For 2010
Governor Nnamdi Sambo of Kaduna State yesterday presented a budget estimate of N196 billion to the State House of Assembly for the 2010 fiscal year with a promise to boost internally generated revenue in the new year.
Sambo told the lawmakers that the 2010 budget is made of a recurrent expenditure of N42 billion and capital expenditure of N152.99 billion.
Presenting the budget, tagged “A Budget Of Empowerment And Progress,” the governor said it aimed at ensuring his administration’s drive to eradicate poverty.
Sambo said his administration would continue to empower the people, while executing projects and programmes to achieve our targeted objectives of driving away poverty among our people.
According to him, the budget will address crotoca; sectprs sicj as education, transport, health, power and agriculture.
He added: “In our effort to reduce poverty and generate employment opportunities for our people, we have set in motion the provision of various earthdams and irrigation projects in various locations within the state.”
Governor Sambo added that the government has also made a precision of one per cent of our capital budget in this year’s estimate to support the Federal Government’s Initiative on the estsablsihment of Micro-Finance Banks (MFBs) in the state, the aim of which is to ensure that financial services are made available to the vast majority of low-income earners and the poor to engage in production activities and create jobs, among others.
This has become necessary in view of the fact that lack of access to financing has been identified as one of the major avenue militating against our growth and development.
“We are continuing with the articulated programme on free medical treatment for pregnant women and children under five years in the health sector through-out the state. We intend to increase the number of hospitals to be covered under this programme. In addition, the construction of the 300-bed specialist hospital is in full progress and has already reached an appreciable stage of completion.
“We have maintained the tempo on the repairs, renovation and rehabilitation of schools in the state. Coupled with this, about 4,000 teachers were recruited to provide adequate, quantitative and qualitative teaching in both secondary and tertiary institutions.”
The government, Sambo also disclosed, intends to stir up a pilot programme on feeding primary school pupils, including the construction of workers’ quarters.
He added that development initiatives in Kaduna State had “attracted the attention of our development partners within and outside the state.”