Abia To Spend N7.7 Billion On Roads

Abia State government is to accord priority to road construction and education this fiscal year. Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning, Chief Jones Udeogu, who made this known while presenting the breakdown of this year’s budget estimates on the floor of the State House of Assembly, disclosed that the state plans to spend N7.7Billion on construction and rehabilitation of roads, bridges and drainages.

The amount represents 37 per cent of the N20.7 billion estimated capital expenditure of this year’s Appropriation Bill currently before the state House of Assembly.

Also, the government allocated Nl.7 billion to provision of infrastructure in the education industry.

If approved by the lawmakers, roads and education would get the lion shares in the economic and social sectors of the capital expenditure portfolio.

Governor Theodore Orji had on December 22, 2009, presented the N60.7 billion budget estimates christened, “People Oriented Budget” to the legislature. It is made up of N40 billion recurrent Expenditure and N20.7 billion capital expenditure.

The recurrent expenditure, according to Udeogu is made up of N18.8 billion for Overhead Costs, N13.1 for Personnel Costs; N3.5 billion for Debt Servicing, N2.6 billion for Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges and N2 billion for Stabilisation/Reserved Account.

Similarly, N8.9 is allocated to the Economic Sector of the Capital Expenditure which is divided into four areas. The Economic Sector is dedicated to promotion of industry and agriculture. The Social Sector committed to improving the living standard of the citizenry will gulp N6.5 billion while Regional Development and General Administration will get N2.8 billion and N6.3 billion respectively.

In the recurrent expenditure portfolio, the Ministry of Education has the biggest allocation of N7.3 billion, aside from the Office of the governor which is to receive N13 billion in the allocation.

The commissioner explained that major sources of the recurrent revenue include Statutory Allocation from Federation Account which will yield N37.2 (67 per cent), taxes expected to generate  N9.3 billion (16.89 per cent), Value Added Tax expected to net N5 billion and 13 per cent Oil Derivation which will generate N3.9 billion.

Udeogu further explained that an expected inflow of N15.7 billion from the Recurrent Account which would be transferred to the Capital Account as well as N5.2 billion expected grants would be used to fund the capital projects.

He hinted that government has outlined strategies and policies aimed at effective implementation of the budget and plugging of all leakages in the financial system of the state.

He named the strategies to include introduction of Cash point system of payment whereby anybody paying any form of revenue does not pay cash to any revenue office but directly into a dedicated account in the banks; introduction of electronic payment of workers’ salaries and pensions to check ghost workers syndrome; auditing of staff of the parastatals and reforming the Sub-treasuries in the state as well as engaging consultants to collect government revenues from this month.

Responding, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Chief Agwu U. Agwu, said the House would do its best to give Abians a realistic budget.