Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has presented a budget proposal of N530,813,357,619.00 for the 2020 fiscal year to the House of Assembly for consideration and passage.
The budget is christened: Reassurance, profound impact for inclusive growth and shared prosperity.
The state government in 2019 budgeted N480 billion for recurrent and capital expenditure.
Presenting the budget proposal to the Assembly yesterday, Wike said it has total recurrent expenditure of N156,659,436569.00, while capital expenditure is N374,153,920,743.00.
Wike said: “The capital expenditure for 2020 is estimated to be N374, 153,920,743.00, which constitutes nearly 70 percent of the total budget.”
The governor stated that his administration was poised to fulfil every promise it made to the people.
He said: “Consequently, various expenditure portfolios have been allocated to all the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to fund capital expenditure and deliver physical and socio-economic infrastructure and development for our people.”
The highpoint of the recurrent expenditure was the allocation of funds for the new minimum wage and the recruitment of new employees.
“The sum of N70,227,748,472.32 is earmarked for salaries and wages; N8,000,000,000.00 for the new minimum wage, while N18,429,375,634.45 is for overheads,” he said.
Governor Wike said N93,968,823,766.60 has been provided for the Ministry of Works to fund the strategic road development programme for 2020.
He said several roads were under construction, adding that the state government was committed to delivering some key roads by the end of 2020.
The governor added that the state government has allocated N26,087,783,322.35 for Bureau for Special Projects to fund the completion of key ongoing projects.
The governor proposed N49.471 billion to fund the education sector for 2020 and earmarked N40.4 billion to agriculture for the 2020 fiscal year, in a bid to strengthen the sector
In his remarks, Speaker Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, assured the governor and Rivers people that the Assembly would diligently consider and pass the budget to facilitate the continued development of the state.
He said budget is critical to the development process and commended Wike for his commitment to the development of state.
Ibani assured the governor of support of the Assembly for the development of Rivers.