BY AUSTIN UGANWA<\/p>\n
The Imo House of Assembly complex was filled to capacity Wednesday,
\nNovember 27 as the State Governor, Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha presented the
\n2020 fiscal framework to the lawmakers. Several Imo people thronged to
\nthe place to witness the event being the first time the new government
\nis providing its budgetary roadmap and therefore significant in many
\nrespects. Cheers, sustained applause greeted Ihedioha as his voice rose
\nand fell in perfect harmony and symmetry as he delivered the 40-minute
\nbudget speech.<\/p>\n
Tagged: \u201cRebuild Imo- Budget One\u201d he provided crisp insight into the
\nAppropriation Bill. \u201cThe proposal is aimed at restoring confidence in
\ngovernment and our people, rebuilding our dilapidated infrastructure and
\nputting the State on a pedestal for sustainable economic development\u201d.
\nAccording to him, the critical and specific areas of focus would
\ninclude: Road infrastructure, improving on the \u2018ease of doing
\nbusiness\u2019 and social services such as education, healthcare delivery
\nsystem, water, sanitation and similar others.<\/p>\n
The budget proposal drew on some basic macro-economic assumptions.\u00a0 One,
\nthat the oil price benchmark will not only remain at\u00a0 US$57 per barrel
\nin 2020\u00a0 but that the\u00a0 daily oil production estimate of 2.18 m bpd and
\nthe\u00a0 exchange rate of N305 per US Dollar would be sustained through next
\nyear. Moreover, that the inflation is expected to remain slightly above
\nsingle digits in the next fiscal year\u00a0 and the increase of Value Added
\nTax rate from 5% to 7.5% which translates to more revenue to government.<\/p>\n
The total budget proposed by the state government is N197.60b with the
\ncapital expenditure taking a larger cut of N 106.22 b than the recurrent
\nexpenditure\u2019s figure of N 91.33b, representing 53.8 percent and 46.2
\npercent respectively. A further breakdown of the budget indicates
\nmarkedly that the Ministry of Works takes the largest share of the
\nCapital budget with N41.31b.<\/p>\n
One of the most enthralling realities about the 2020 Imo fiscal
\nframework is evident in the capital outlay overshooting the recurrent
\nspending. This is unlike most government budgets including the 2020
\nFederal Government Budget which\u00a0 \u00a0squeaks under the heavy weight of
\nexcessive recurrent expenditure structure. For instance, the\u00a0 Federal
\nGovernment\u2019s 2020 capital expenditure proposal which was presented to
\nthe joint session of the National Assembly a couple of months ago is
\nN2.46T while the projected recurrent expenditure is put at aggregate sum
\nof\u00a0 N4.026T with the personnel costs gulping N3.6T and the overhead
\ncosts N426b. In comparable terms, the recurrent expenditure is N1.556T
\nover and above the capital vote.<\/p>\n
Understanding that capital votes are essentially used to fund projects
\nthe consequence is that higher capital votes resonate greater
\ninfrastructural development and economic growth. This explains why the
\npath undertaken by the Imo administration is strikingly healthy and
\ninstructive of a government dedicated to wealth creation and economic
\nsustenance desirable to stimulate composite state growth and
\nadvancement.<\/p>\n
However, the priority attention Ihedioha\u2019s administration has accorded
\nthe infrastructural sector in the budget and the lion share projected
\nallocation of N41b to the Ministry of Works are logical and
\nunderstandable.\u00a0 Although on assumption of office May 29, Ihedioha
\ninherited a ruined state, the infrastructural sector particularly roads,
\nelectricity and potable water have remained the worst hit on account of
\nyears of neglect and substandard projects executed by the past
\nadministration. It is generally known by Imo people that inter and intra
\ncities roads are in dilapidated state and made worse by the rains that
\nare just giving way for the dry season.<\/p>\n
Over the past six months the new government has evidently made concerted
\nefforts towards reclaiming and restoring the infrastructure base of the
\nstate. Accordingly the government has commenced an ambitious
\nrehabilitation and reconstruction of 25 roads projects across Imo. Over
\n85 percentage of the contractors have been mobilized to sites and work
\nhas evidently and earnestly commenced. Besides, the government recently
\nawarded portions of five federal roads leading into the State capital.
\nThe roads are: Owerri-Orlu, Owerri-Okigwe , Owerri-Obowo , Owerri-Aba
\nand the Owerri-Port Harcourt Road. A total cost of N40b according to the
\ngovernor is earmarked for the roads projects<\/p>\n
On the recurrent side,\u00a0 \u00a0N8b was projected for personnel costs,\u00a0 N 6b
\nfar below the last year\u2019s N15.3b. This is surprising given the
\nincrease in\u00a0 the workers\u2019\u00a0 salary\u00a0 and monthly payment of pension
\nundertaken by Ihedioha administration. The reduced personnel cost has
\nbeen attributed to the ongoing reform in the civil service which
\nincludes the enthronement of accountability, transparency and due
\nprocess<\/p>\n
On the contrary, the climbed overhead costs from last year\u2019s\u00a0 N18.9b
\nto N34.7b may well find justification in the increased volume of
\ngovernment activities arising from the consolidated nature of the
\nrebuild process. For instance,\u00a0 Ihedioha who has umpteenth time noted
\nhis administration\u2019s hurriedness to rebuild the state has accordingly
\nset up various committees, units, panels and agencies\u00a0 towards
\naccomplishing the government\u2019s objectives. The result is heightened
\nrate of government\u2019s functions and a corresponding pressure on the
\noverhead costs.<\/p>\n
With N36.4b Internally Generated Revenue projection, the 2020 fiscal
\nyear\u2019s IGR is intended to surpass that of 2019 figure of N25.5b by a
\nwhopping N10.9b.\u00a0 The reason is largely penetration and not far-fetched.
\nThe introduction of the Treasury Single Account in August this year
\nthrough the ratification of Executive Order 5 by the governor has had
\ntremendous impact on the blockage of revenue generation leakages. The
\nresult is that since the past four months, the Imo IGR has been on a
\nsteady increase culminating in about 400 percent rise as at November
\nending. With the 2020 fiscal framework designed to drive the economic
\nsector, commercial agriculture, ease of doing and investment, the IGR is
\nexpected to pull higher and further.<\/p>\n
DR. AUSTIN UGANWA, SENIOR SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO IMO GOVERNMENT ON
\nDOCUMENTATION WROTE FROM OWERRI<\/p>\n
BY AUSTIN UGANWA The Imo House of Assembly complex was filled to capacity Wednesday, November 27 as the State Governor, Rt. Hon Emeka Ihedioha presented the 2020 fiscal framework to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":65425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n