FULL SCRIPT OF ENUGU STATE 2016 BUDGET PRESENTED BY GOVERNOR IFEANYI UGWUANYI TODAY
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| Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State flanked on his left by the Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi as he presents the Enugu State year 2016 Budget Proposal tagged, Budget of Stability and Consolidation, at the Hallowed Chambers of the State House of Assembly, Enugu |
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| Enugu state Governor, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi hands over a copy of the Enugu State 2016 budget proposal to the Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi, at the Hallowed Chambers of the State House of Assembly, Enugu |
PROTOCOLS
It
is with a great sense of honour and sincere gratitude to the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob and the awesome God of David that I stand
before you on this divinely appointed day, to present my maiden budget as
Governor of Enugu State.
Mr
Speaker, Honourable members of the House, permit me to start by congratulating
you on your victory in the elections that ushered you into this hallowed
Assembly and also thank you for the good work and the support that you have
been giving my administration as we seek the actualization of our common purpose
of transforming the socio-economic fortunes of our dear State and consequently
that of our people.
This
occasion also presents me the opportunity to once again, thank Ndi Enugu; the
true heroes of democracy, for their support and cooperation and for the prayers
they have continued to offer on our behalf since inception.
Mr
Speaker, I wish to present before this honourable House, the 2016 budget
estimates which we have tagged; “Budget of Stability and Consolidation”.
The budget is so named because it is intended to help us find our way through
the current economic difficulties that the nation is passing through while
ensuring the seamless continuity and consolidation of the progressive policies
and programmes of government that we promised our people. It is also among
others, intended to enable us create jobs through agriculture, entrepreneurship
and investment; increase the tempo of infrastructural development across the
state; sustain the comparatively high level of security in the state;
fortify and revitalize our educational institutions; reinvigorate the
health sector to enable us achieve our aspiration of turning Enugu into the
choice destination for medical treatment in Nigeria and indeed; generally
restore Enugu to its status as the capital of the south east, the capital of
Ndi Igbo.
REVIEW OF YEAR 2015 BUDGET
Before
I present the 2016 Budget Estimates, permit me to review the implementation of
the 2015 budget so as to draw vital lessons that will guide our approach on how
best to implement the 2016 budget. The current budget is peculiar in that the
implementation was started by the previous administration and is being
completed by the present administration.
Mr. Speaker, I make bold to say that
the 2015 budget was consistent with our development framework designed to
impact positively on the lives of our people across the entire State.
I wish to state that our dreams and aspirations
towards improving the living standards of the people of Enugu State by
providing them quality services and infrastructure was challenged by dwindling
economic resources accruing to the State, especially from the Federally
accruable revenues. This is to be expected, given the global fall of oil prices
in the World Oil Market, from which the Nation derives the bulk of her financial
resources. It is not surprising therefore; that the State’s receipts from the
Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in the 2015 fiscal year fell by
about 50% of what it was in the previous year. With the declining trend in the
World Oil Market, the situation is expected to degenerate even further in the
subsequent years. We therefore, owe it as an obligation to ourselves to reduce
our dependence on that source of revenue by looking inwards to sources that
exist within the State. In spite of the constraint mentioned above, we still
utilised the available resources judiciously to deliver on our campaign
promises to our people. We also
embarked on several programs of reforms in critical areas of development and I
am glad to inform you that these reforms are already yielding the desired
results.
Mr Speaker, may I at this juncture,
quickly go straight to highlight some of the major milestones we were able to
achieve in the course of the few months we have been in office.
ECONOMIC ADVISORY Committee
Conscious of the precarious state of
the nation’s economy and the challenges it poses to our developmental
objectives, we set up an Economic Advisory Committee consisting of eminent sons
and daughters of the state and other states, to advise government on the best
policies that will engender sustainable growth and development for the state. I
am glad to inform you that the State is already benefiting from the rich
repository of experience, knowledge, goodwill, influence and contacts of
members of the Committee. We will soon launch a blueprint for the
industrialisation and economic revival of the state. It is indeed heart-warming
to note that within this short period of time, new companies and partners have
entered and commenced businesses in Enugu State, employing our youths and
providing essential services to our people.
INTERNALLY GENERATED REVENUE
To standardize, streamline and shore
up our Internally Generated Revenue as part of our efforts to navigate through
the current economic difficulties, we have set up a team to design a blueprint
for the collection of revenue which we believe will help eliminate corruption
and illegal collections. We are already working towards the enactment of a
Property Tax Law and other revenue related laws that will regulate revenue
collection in the State and ensure that Government gets its full due from
various that taxes that are in force in the state.
WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
From the inception of this
Administration on 29th May, 2015, we made our intentions clear that
this Government would, in line with global standard practices, sustain the
laudable intervention strategies that were already in place. Thus, we continued
to give priority attention to constructing new roads and rehabilitating
numerous others in various states of disrepair in the continued bid to reduce
travel times, enhance connectivity with our rural communities and enhance
economic activities in the rural communities.
In consonance with the above, we
have, in the 2015 fiscal year, aggressively pursued work on the following
on-going road projects, which were commenced by our predecessors:
ü The
25km Amaetiti Achi – Umuagu Inyi – Awlaw – Abia State road;
ü The
37.7 Nkwo Nike – Ugwogo – Opi Junction road;
ü The
44km 9th Mile – Nachi – Ugwuoba Boarder road;
ü The
5.4km EziAbalu – Agbudu – AfiaManya road;
ü IkedimkpaAffa
– AmofiaAgu – Oghu road;
ü Enugu
Township Urban roads;
ü The
7.5km Amokwe Station – Umabi road;
ü The
7km Amokwe Station – Umuaga road;
ü 9.493km
internal road network at Udi Native Authority
ü The
5km Airport Round About – OrieEmene – St Patrick’s College-Eke Obinagu road;
ü Holy
Ghost Road, Ogbete Main Market, Enugu
These are in addition to the
rehabilitation of the Enugu/Abakiliki Dual Carriage Way.
Within the few months of my
administration, contracts were awarded for implementation of the following
projects:
Ø Construction
of Abakpa-Nike Road and Nike Lake Road in Enugu East Local Government Area,
Ø Dualisation
of Opi – Nsukka Road in Nsukka Local Government Area,
Ø Construction
of Amankwo – Amaeke – Amah Brewery Junction By-Pass Road in Udi Local
Government Area,
Ø Construction
of 9th Mile By-Pass Road,
Ø Construction
of OhomOrba Junction – ImilikeAni – EzimoUnu – EzimoAgu – ImilikeAgu – Ogbodu
Aba – ObolloEtiti – Amalla – ObolloAfor Road (Udenu Ring Road) in Udenu Local
government Area,
Ø Construction
of Enugu Road (Nsukka) Junction – Umuezeobi – Nru Junction – University Gate in
Nsukka Local government Area,
Ø Construction
of Post Office Roundabout – Odenigbo Roundabout – Ogurugu Road – Ikenga Hotels
Junction in Nsukka Local government area,
Ø Construction
of Obechara Road Junction – Umuakashi – Mechanic Village – Ikenga Hotels
Junction Road in Nsukka Local Government Area,
Ø During
the year, we completed the construction of Office Building for the Protocol
Unit, Government House, Enugu,
Ø We
also completed the renovation of 2 No blocks of classrooms and offices
and other renovation works at Queens School, Enugu,
Ø During
the year too, we completed repair/renovation works at the Deputy Governor’s
Lodge, Enugu while work is on-going on the upgrading of the Deputy Governor’s
Office, Government House, Enugu.
It is equally worthy of mention that
this year, work was substantially done on the Nkwo Nike – Ugwogo – Opi Junction
Road as well as 9th Mile – Nachi – Ugwuoba Boarder Road projects,
which were initiated by the previous administration.
We
are also doing drains, culverts, earthworks, and asphaltic wearing courses on
the Ugwogo Nike-Ikem Road.
We
also directed the continuous maintenance of roads in Enugu.
CIVIL SERVICE
The lofty dream of providing a
world-class working environment for Civil Servants in Enugu State was conceived
by the past Administration. In the year under review, Government committed huge
resources to the furnishing of part of the new ultra-modern State Secretariat
Complex and the new Governor’s Office. Today, the age-long dream has been
accomplished, as our workers from 18 MDAs have moved into part of the
Ultra-Modern Secretariat Complex.
We pledge our unqualified
determination to work on the remaining parts of the State Secretariat Complex
till we see it to its final conclusion, because the reputable workers of Enugu
State deserve nothing but the best.
Also
in line with the interest we have in the welfare of workers, we have continued
the prompt payment of salaries and paid 30 percent Equity Contribution to
enable interested Enugu State civil servants from Grade Level 01 to Grade Level
10, to acquire 100 units of one bedroom flats at Elim Estate, Ibagwa, Nike,
Enugu. The beneficiaries of this scheme have since been selected through
an open lottery system held recently at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu. Work
has also reached advanced stages at the Workers’ Estate at Ogbeke
In 2015, Government also extended
its hands of fellowship to the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army by completing
and handing over to them 2No. 10 units each of 4 Bedroom Terrace Duplexes with
2No 10 units of one bedroom Boys’ Quarter Bungalows.
EDUCATION
To boost the quality of the learning environment in
our public secondary schools in line with the promise we made in our inaugural
address, we set up an Administrative
committee headed by the Deputy Governor, Her Excellency, Hon. (Mrs) Cecilia
Ezeilo to look into the issue of ENSUBEB projects in our primary schools and
related matters.
We
have nonetheless undertaken the renovation and re-equipment of secondary and
primary schools across the state to ensure that our teachers and their pupils
enjoy a conducive environment for learning. We so far in this drive, renovated 50
No. Senior Secondary School buildings and provided 1,305 three-seater school
desks to our public schools in the same year.
We
have also made fruitful efforts to provide and improve necessary infrastructure
in our Tertiary institutions and intervened to rescue the Institute of
Management and Technology (IMT) from the crumbling weight of salary arrears and
resultant low staff morale.
I
am glad to announce that government has decided to upgrade the IMT to a degree
awarding institution and has put in place the necessary machinery to enable us
realize this objective, We have also taken decisive steps towards repositioning
and revamping the Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo through our push for the revalidation
of old programmes and the accreditation of five new courses by the National
Board for Technical Education (NABTEB).
Disturbed
by the fact that the Enugu State College of Education (Technical) has not been
able to award certificates to its graduands for nine years due to non-
accreditation of its courses, the State Executive Council revalidated the
approval of a substantial sum of money to enable the institution scale its
accreditation hurdles and be in a position to issue certificates.
HEALTH
In line with our expressed desire to
turn Enugu State into a centre for medical tourism in the country, we have, among other things,
continued to sustain our well acclaimed Free Maternal Health and Child Care
programme while ensuring the proper equipment and staffing of existing health
institutions including the six district hospitals 6 District
Hospitals in Agbani, Awgu, Enugu Ezike, Isi-Uzo, Nsukka, Udi and Enugu North
LGAs which were upgraded to Specialist Hospitals this year. Government also
undertook the rehabilitation of clinics, wards, offices and catering units as
well as the construction of security post at Emene Psychiatric Hospital and
procured and delivered modern Laboratory electrolytes and full blood counting
machines, birth beds, cervical traction and lunar traction machines, microtome
blades, ophthalmic instruments, sterilizing machine, operation microscope, to
various departments of ESUT Teaching Hospital to facilitate the
re-accreditation of those departments.
We
are also on the verge of completing the ultra-modern medical diagnostic centre
in Enugu and have initiated the construction of three new Specialists Hospitals
in the three Senatorial Zones of the State with the flag off of the scheme on a
piece of land donated by communities in Udenu, Igbo-Eze North and Igbo-Eze
South Local Government Areas of Enugu State.
In addition, 7 Health Centres in
each of the Senatorial Zones of the State were equally renovated this year
under the MDGs – CGS.
SECURITY
To ensure continued security in the
State and boost economic activities, Government consciously, during the year
under review, installed 2,800 No. single-arm and 2,000 No. double arm street
lights within Enugu and Nsukka Urban Centres.
This administration also donated 20
No. security vans to the security agencies in the state as part of its efforts
to sustain its policy of providing the agencies with the tools to combat
crimes. It is already on records that Enugu has the lowest crime rate in
the country and is, therefore, the safest State in Nigeria. We shall keep the
flag flying.
RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
As
part of our rural and agricultural development initiatives, we initiated the
construction of a 15-kilometre Inter-Town Connection (ITC) 2.5MVA Injection
Sub-Station at Ezi-Nze, Udi Local Government Area just a few days after my
assumption of office. This initiative will supply electricity to communities in
Udi, Igbo-Etiti, and Uzo-Uwani Local Government Areas. It will also activate
businesses in these rural communities and power the Adada Dam Project as well
as the Greater Nsukka Water Scheme.
Also
in line with the promise I made in my inaugural address we constituted the
Enugu Renewal Committee with the mandate to create new urban areas especially
at Nsukka, 9th Mile Corner which now enjoys a new status as a Free
Trade Zone, Abakpa Nike, Emene and Independence Layout Phase 2 in order to
reduce the pressure on Enugu Capital city and boost socio-economic activities
around Enugu State.
Fully committed to ensuring that
every community in the State is connected to the National Grid we have also
embarked on the following efforts towards the actualising this dream:
Ø Boosting
and energizing of existing of electricity networks in the 3 Senatorial Zones of
the State.
Ø Rehabilitation/Reconstruction
of dilapidated/vandalized electricity networks in the 3 Senatorial Zones.
Ø Extension
of electricity to existing networks in rural communities in the 3 Senatorial
Zones.
We pledge
continue from where our predecessors stopped till the task is fully
accomplished.
In
the area of Agriculture, we procured 20 tractors to be hired to genuine farmers
at very low rates. I also directed the release
of counterpart funds for the robust participation of our State in the
implementation of the N2 billion Staple Crops Processing Zone (SCPZ) programme
by the African Development Bank in conjunction with the Federal Government of
Nigeria. The fund will be channeled to the revival and expansion of the Adani
Irrigation Scheme as well as the construction of feeder roads and other
critical infrastructure that will catalyze agriculture in the State. We
have also resolved all the disputes that threatened the operations of the San
Carlos Pineapple farm hosted by communities in Awgu and Udi Local Government Areas.
Determined to ensure the
availability of safe drinking water to people in the rural areas, Government
embarked upon these following projects during the year under review.
Ø The
construction of 20No. Indian Mark Shallow boreholes in the following rural
communities:
Orjiagu
Agbani,
Health
Centre Agbani,
Obeagu
Eziokwe Amurri,
OnuakpakaVillage
Centre, Ogonogo Eji NdiaguAkpugo,
Amafor
Village Square, Agbani
Onuobodo
Nduno ObunoAkpugo,
Amodu
Awkunanaw,
Community
Primary School, Obe,
Amankasi
EziokweAmurri,
NkwoMarket,
Agbani,
Umueze
Awkunanaw,
Ngene
Orie Ogirishi,
Ugwuafor
Health Centre,
Wesley
Primary School, Methodist Church Agbani,
Agbaede
Ndiuno Akpugo,
Mbogodo,
Umuedum
Village Hall, Amankanu Amurri,
Ogirishi
Obinagu Uwani Akpugo, all in Nkanu West Local Government Area,
Construction of solar-powered
boreholes in Ukana,Uboji Ngwo,
Amankwo Ngwo, Premier Primary
School, Udi in Udi Local Government Area,
Ø Rehabilitation
of water boreholes at Ogonogo-EjiNdiunoAkpugo and NdiunoAkpugo, Nkanu West
Local Government.
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
In
the area of industrial development, I wish to inform you that we have resolved
all the bottlenecks militating against the take off of the Enugu State
Industrial Park and that, in partnership with Enugu Chamber of Commerce,
Industry, Mines and Agriculture and the DFID, we are planning a drive for
investors through an investment and economic Summit that we have scheduled to
hold next year. We are finding ways to leverage on the presence of an
International Airport in Enugu to attract investment and boost tourism.
SPORTS
Having
acknowledged Sports as a major avenue for engaging our youth positively,
creating jobs, and marketing our State, we are taking steps to return Enugu to
its glorious days as the breeding ground for celebrated sports personalities.
In
this regard, we have resolved to take immediate steps to reorganize and revive
the Rangers International Club- a club that is dear, not only to Ndi Enugu, but
also to every Igbo man. We have earlier moved to resolve the impasse between
the players and management of the club over unpaid salaries and other
entitlements.
LOCAL
GOVERNMENT REFORMS
Early
in the life of the administration, we set up an 11-man Committee on Local
Government Audit and Biometric Data Capture headed by the Speaker of the Enugu
State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi. Among others, the Committee’s
responsibility is to determine the true staff strength of each of the 17 Local
Government Areas, the financial implications of the staff in respect of monthly
remunerations of the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board and the Local
Government Pensions Board.
It
is our firm belief that the exercise will help to arrest the perennial problem
of the ghost worker syndrome and create room for our people to genuinely fill
existing vacancies in the system. I am pleased to announce that the exercise is
already yielding the desired results and will soon be extended to the school
system where we have also observed similar anomalies.
Indeed,
it was these problems associated with the current system of administration of
local governments and the need to address them promptly and adequately as well
as insufficient budgetary provisions, that informed the decision by Enugu State
Stakeholders’ at a meeting held on the 28th of November, 2015, to
give us the mandate to constitute Caretaker Committees to man the Local
Government Councils when the tenure of the current leaderships of the councils
expires in January, 2016.
YEAR
2016 BUDGET ESTIMATES
The
main thrust of the 2016 budget is in line with my pledge in my inaugural speech
on 29thMay this year and I quote, “I recommit myself to employment
generation, enhanced social services and good governance, rural development and
indeed, security and justice. We will deploy government services to create fair
and equal opportunity for every willing citizen to make a living and create
wealth, educate our children, and enjoy life in a peaceful and secure
environment. We will drive with full force, the investment promotion,
agricultural sector renewal, provision of critical infrastructure, human
capital development and skill acquisition,’’ unquote.
In
order to actualize these noble ideas, prudence and accountability will be our
watch word. We are not unmindful of the lean resources across the country due
to the nose – diving of oil prices in the international market. We know that
with the support of the good people of Enugu State, we will turn the present
economic challenges into great opportunities to diversify our economy. Time has
come for us to think outside the box and exploit fully the economic potentials
of the state. It was for this purpose that we are going
to pursue aggressively the exploitation of all potential sources of Internally
Generated Revenue in the State. Our promise is however, that this will be
pursued in such a manner that it will not inflict much hardship on our people.
We are determined to plug all loopholes for revenue leakages in the State in
the coming year, and in this vein, we shall fully sustain the Pay-Direct system
in all aspects of collection of Government revenue using the Treasury Single
Account (TSA) model in the State.My administration also inaugurated the Economic Advisory
Committee to advise the State Government on how best to improve the economic
activities in the State.
IMPLEMENTATION
STRATEGIES
The
strategies for successful implementation of 2016 budget include but not limited
to:
·
Diversification of the economy
through Private Sector Participation in economic development.
·
Transparency and accountability.
·
More effective expenditure
supervision and control.
·
More effective Project Monitoring
and Evaluation.
·
Institutional reform both at the
State and Local Government levels for effective service delivery
YEAR
2016 BUDGET SIZE
Mr.
Speaker Sir, Honourable members, considering the present macro-economic climate
and other prevailing variables, I hereby present to you our year 2016 Budget of
(N85,179,449,000) eighty five billion ,one hundred and seventy nine
million, four hundred and forty nine thousand naira. This is lower than the
2015 budget of (N96,735,300,000)ninety six billion, seven hundred and
thirty five million, three hundred thousand naira by (N11,555,851,000)
eleven billion, five hundred and fifty five million , eight hundred and fifty
one thousand naira, which represents a decrease of 12%. The decrease was
necessitated by the realities of the times with respect to revenue inflow from
Federal Allocation.
Of
this budget, a total sum of (N43,735,931,000) forty three billion, seven
hundred and thirty five million, nine hundred and thirty one thousand naira
representing 51%,is for Recurrent Expenditure as against (N41,795,319,789)
forty one billion, seven hundred and ninety five million, three hundred and
nineteen thousand, seven hundred eighty nine naira budgeted in 2015 while (N41,443,518,000)
forty one billion,four hundred and forty three million, five hundred and
eighteen thousand naira which represents 49% is for Capital Expenditure as
against (N54,939,980,211) fifty four billion, nine hundred and thirty
nine million, nine hundred and eighty thousand, two hundred and eleven naira
budgeted for 2015 fiscal year. Further details and comparison with 2015 budget
are shown in the table below.
ITEMS
|
2015 (
|
2016 (
|
Federation Allocation (FAAC)
|
55,520,000,000
|
34,415,000,000
|
Value Added Tax (Tax)
|
10,650,000,000
|
9,800,000,000
|
Independent Revenue (IGR)
|
19,168,129,700
|
18,882,415,000
|
TOTAL RECURRENT REVENUE
|
85,338,129,700
|
63,097,415,000
|
RECURRENT EXPENDITURE
|
||
Personnel Cost
|
26,066,292,852
|
28,843,291,948
|
Overhead
|
10,287,151,880
|
8,530,986,875
|
Subvention
|
5,441,875,057
|
6,361,652,177
|
SUB TOTAL
|
41,795,319,789
|
43,735,931,000
|
CAPITAL RECEIPTS
|
||
Transfer from Consolidated Revenue Fund
|
38,020,680,211
|
19,361,484,000
|
Aids and Grants
|
3,800,000,000
|
3,531,794,000
|
Public Private Partnership
|
6,520,000,000
|
5,952,000,000
|
Domestic Loans/Borrowing Receipts
|
2,000,000,000
|
7,900,000,000
|
International Loans/Borrowing Receipts
|
4,599,300,000
|
4,698,240,000
|
TOTAL
|
54,939,980,211
|
41,443,518,000
|
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE SUMMARY BY SECTORS
|
||
Administration Sector
|
4,033,682,315
|
2,419,341,957
|
Economic Sector
|
36,206,702,600
|
28,973,997,982
|
Law & Justice Sector
|
752,146,005
|
777,800,000
|
Regional Sector
|
471,000,000
|
405,700,000
|
Social Sector
|
13,476,449,291
|
8,866,678,061
|
TOTAL
|
54,939,980,211
|
41,443,518,000
|
BUDGET SIZE
|
96,735,300,000
|
85,179,449,000
|
2016
RECURRENT REVENUE
Permit
me to substantiate the above the following details. In 2016, Government expects
a Recurrent Revenue of (N63,097,415,000) sixty three billion, ninety
seven million, four hundred and fifteen thousand naira as against (N85,338,129,700)
eighty five billion, three hundred and thirty eight million, one hundred and
twenty nine thousand, seven hundred naira forecasted in 2015. Government
intends to realize this amount through aggressive Internally Generated Revenue
drive which is estimated to yield (N18, 882,415,000) eighteen billion,
eight hundred and eighty two million, four hundred and fifteen thousand naira,
representing 29.93% of total recurrent revenue and a projected share from the
Federal Revenue estimated at (N44,215,000,000) forty four billion, two
hundred and fifteen million naira which accounts for 70.07% of the total
projected Recurrent Revenue.
2016
RECURRENT EXPENDITURE
The
estimated Recurrent Expenditure is (N43,735,931,000)forty three billion,
seven hundred and thirty five million, nine hundred and thirty one thousand
naira. Out of this amount, (N28, 843,291,948)twenty eight billion, eight
hundred and forty three million, two hundred and ninety one thousand, nine
hundred and forty eight naira, which represents 65.95% is for personnel costs,
including Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges. A total of (N8,530,986,875)eight
billion, five hundred and thirty million, nine hundred and eighty six thousand,
eight hundred and seventy five naira, representing 19.5% is for overhead cost
while (N6,361,652,177)six billion, three hundred and sixty one million,
six hundred and fifty two thousand, one hundred and seventy seven naira,
represents14.55% for subvention to parastatals and tertiary institutions.
2016
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
Mr.
Speaker Sir, and Honourable members, permit me to inform you that the sum of (N41,443,518,000)
forty one billion, four hundred and forty three million, five hundred and
eighteen thousand naira, which is 48.65% of the budget size is appropriated for
capital expenditure in the year 2016. It is not my intention to bore you with
the details of sectoral allocations since they are contained in the
comprehensive budget proposal. I shall only offer brief explanations on some of
them so that we can all be abreast of the guiding philosophy which informed the
spirit of the allocation.
WORKS
AND INFRASTRUCTURE
In
the area of road construction, we have already keyed-in to the goal of the
immediate past administration to make every community in Enugu State accessible
by road. In this regard, we will consolidate on the achievements in road
construction and rehabilitation by striving to complete all on–going urban and
rural roads while new ones will be awarded soonest. By this way, we will
enhance rapid socio- economic transformation of the entire State.
It
was for this purpose that Ministry of Works and Infrastructure received an
allocation of N20.442 billion in 2016 budget representing 49.3% of the
entire Capital Budget as against N21.625 billion allocated to the
ministry in 2015 budget. This allocation will take care of the on- going urban
road rehabilitation at Enugu, Nsukka and other urban areas of Enugu State.
Mr.
Speaker Sir, Honourable members as I address this August Assembly, contractors
are already physically at work in different sites for the road projects
recently awarded by the State Government as earlier mentioned in this Budget.
AGRICULTURE
This
Administration will invest heavily in material and human capital development in
agriculture knowing full well that the sector holds bright prospects for the
much- desired food security and employment of our growing youth population.
Efforts will be made to consolidate and improve on the achievements of the
previous administration in Enugu Songhai Initiative, Enugu San Carlos Pineapple
Program, World Bank assisted Commercial Agriculture and FADAMA Projects.
Attention will also be given to Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo which is
expected to produce the agricultural manpower needs of the State. The
Agriculture sub-sector received an allocation of the sum of N1.317
billion.
We
will leverage on Public Private Partnership (PPP) to boost the production of
key staple crops such as rice, oil palm and cashew.
HEALTH
There
are enough good reasons to justify the level of expenditure being planned by
this administration regarding the health of our people. It is often said that
health is wealth and for this reason a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.
It
was against this background that we flagged off construction of 100-bed
(expandable 200) highly specialized hospital at the onset of this administration.
The on-going free Maternal and Child Healthcare Programme will be sustained.
The
Enugu Diagnostic Centre started by the immediate past administration, when
completed, will make Enugu the centre of excellence in health services. It is
in recognition of the prime place that health commands in the well-being of the
good people of Enugu State that made us to set aside the sum of N3
billion for the Health sub-sector. This allocation is for Ministry of Health,
ESUT College of Medicine Teaching Hospital) and Enugu State Action Committee on
Aids (ENSACA).
EDUCATION
Education
remains the most prized possession of every child in Enugu State and for this
reason, Education shall occupy a priority position in this administration. The
on–going free education from primary to junior Secondary School III will be
sustained. Both the tertiary and lower education institutions in the State will
be funded to provide qualitative education to our people. In 2016, education
will receive a total vote of N 4.089billion. The above sum covers
allocations made for the Ministry of Education, State Universal Basic Education
Board (ENSUBEB), Enugu State College of Educat
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