By Emmanuel Acha
Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State on Friday presented a budget of N105.7 billion for the 2017 fiscal year to the state assembly.
Speaking during the presentation, Ugwuanyi said that the budget, tagged ‘Budget of Economic Recovery and Inclusive Development,’ was aimed at injecting life into the economy of the state.
He said the budget represented a 25 per cent increase over the 2016 appropriation which stood at N85.17 billion.
The governor said the sum of N55.19 billion, representing 52 per cent of the total appropriation, was for recurrent expenditure while N50.52 billion, representing 48 per cent, was for capital expenditure.
Ugwuanyi said the 2016 budget had a total sum of N43.795 billion for recurrent expenditure while N41. 443 billion was earmarked for capital expenditure.
“In 2017, the sum of N71.371 billion is our expected recurrent revenue while the recurrent expenditure is N55.197 billion.
“We expect to raise this sum through aggressive revenue drive without placing much burden on the residents of the state,” he said.
The governor said the budget would build on the successes of the 2016 appropriation by improving on human and infrastructural development in the 17 local government areas.
“We shall leverage on public-private partnership to expand all sectors of the state economy, especially in agriculture, health, real estate, education and others.
“We will institutionalise transparency in the delivery of good governance in the state,” he said.
Ugwuanyi said the state government made modest efforts in building a sustainable economy in 2016 and hoped to fund more than 50 per cent of the 2017 budget from internally generated revenue.
“We are targeting N2 billion as our monthly internally generated revenue in the 2017 fiscal year.
“This budget is our plan for the economic recovery of the state and with prudent management we shall realise our dreams and I wish you give it accelerated passage,” he said.
Responding, the Speaker of the assembly, Chief Edward Ubosi, promised a speedy and assiduous passage of the budget.
“We shall also discharge our oversight functions in the monitoring of the implementation of the budget,” Ubosi said.
