Taraba Government Trimmed
Down Its 2020 Budget
.
In response to the Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria, the Taraba state government has trimmed down its 2020 budget from N215,923, 576,810.00 to N176, 616, 318, 475.000.
This according to the commissioner for Budget and Planning, Hon. Solomon B. Elisha was necessitated by the prevailing situation heralded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing the sharp decrease in the amounts accrued to the state in the first quarter of 2020, he said, “the state has no reason to go beyond the projection of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Federal Government ” whom as stated by him “has the power to generate and share from this source.”
The commissioner who made this known while briefing media practitioners on the current details of the 2020 budget, said 12.60 percent of the total revised expenditure has been dedicated to the fight against COVID-19, stating that “the COVID-19 response has taken 12.60% of the total export of the revised budget size and it cuts across the sectors bordering on crisis, recovery, mitigation, livelihood and palliative.”
To however ensure that the revised budget sees the light of the day, the state government, as made known by him, has obtained permission through the legislature to access loans from commercial banks.
According to him “agreements have been signed with some of these creditors and an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) with Access Bank” which in his word “is already in operation in funding some of the capital projects.”
More to that, the state government, he said have as well made a commitment of funders to “some World Bank Assisted Projects and other funds as matching grants” stating that “other commitments have also been with external partners to supply farm inputs.”
In the area of water supply, the African Development Bank (ADB) as revealed by the commissioner “has since being engaged in the provision of potable water in some urban centres of the state. “
The commissioner who also disclosed that the revised budget received the blessings of the entire members of the State House of Assembly, and that “due process was duly followed to the end” said the governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku has assented to the reviewed budget.
The Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) which was earlier pegged at over N6 billion for the fiscal year in question, as observed by our correspondent was not altered despite the adverse effect of the pandemic, the reason which the commissioner tied to the apron string of back-logs of revenue arrears to be collected especially the Federal government IPPS with over N4 billion out which he said: “more than half have already been recovered”.