| NEWS
|
National
Metro
Africa
World
Business
|
|
|
| OPINION
|
Editorial
Columnists
Contributors
Letters
Cartoons
Discussions
Outlook
|
|
|
| SPORTS
|
Home
Abroad
Golf Weekly
Results
|
|
|
| FEATURES
|
Focus
Policy & Politics
Arts
Media
Science
Natural Health
Law
Education
Weekend
Friday Review
Executive Briefs
Fashion
Food & Drink
Auto Wheels
Friday Worship
Saturday Magazine
Sunday Magazine
Ibru Ecumenical Centre
Agro Care
|
|
|
|
|
Bauchi House okays N57.8b for 2005 budget
From Mohammed Kawu, Bauchi
ABUDGET proposal of N56,968,647,782 presented to the Bauchi State House of Assembly by Governor Ahmadu Adamu Muazu, has been approved for the year 2005.
The governor said in a speech tagged: "Budget of Empowerment and Reform", that the budget implementation should not be business as usual, as according to him, "confident and unafraid we labour on - not towards a strategy of business as usual, but towards a strategy of reforms".
The House had in passing the budget proposal into law, increased the size of the budget from N860 million to N57,820,647,782.
The state Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Shuaibu Ahmed, who expressed delight with the quick passage of the budget, said the N860 million increase would be redeemed from the N316 million surplus in the 2005 budget proposal, N500 million borrowing or cutting down the size of the budget estimates.
Governor Muazu had in the 2005 budget proposal given its capital receipts of N40,953,305,704 out of which N22,237,871,704 is transferred from the requirement revenue surplus to the capital development fund which remaining is made up of internal and external loans grants and technical assistance amounting to N18,715,340,000.
Muazu explained that the proposed capital expenditure of N40,636,419,486 when taken against the capital receipts of N40,953,305,704 will give a budget surplus of N316,886,218, saying it has been a budget surplus for Bauchi State for a very long time.
The sectoral allocation of the total recurrent expenditure of N16,097,898,296 has the transport sub-sector taking the lion share of N9,069,500,000 followed by culture and tourism, general administration and education which have N5,897,020,000, N4,116,234,000 and N3,815,001,000.
Other sectoral allocations in the recurrent expenditure, according to the governor, included poverty alleviation, N2,760,000,000; health, N2,232,900,000; agriculture, N1,864,564,486 while housing, water and commerce have N1,620,000,000, N1,584,000,000 and N1,320,000,000 respectively.
According to the governor, agriculture would be used as a weapon in fighting poverty under the government's economic sector programme with the objective of creating jobs and wealth in the hands of the people to ensure food security.
He said: "No citizen of Bauchi State deserves to be hungry, no able bodied and willing person should go without a job and without a means of earning a living".
Under this programme, he explained, government would upgrade its three-farm training centres, reactivate nine existing ones, purchase strategic crops to cushion the effect of price fluctuations of farmers' income and provide farm implements.
It will also develop land bank for intending farmers and strengthen the existing working collaboration between the state government, World Bank and other donors.
Describing poverty alleviation as one of the top priorities of his administration, Muazu said under the programme, projects would be carefully selected to alleviate or reduce poverty through job creation, food security, wealth creation, redistribution and presentation.
He noted that this would be achieved through adequate provision of micro-credit to farmers to produce selected crops that have comparative advantage for export purposes.
Muazu said, however, that the envisaged economic and social reforms would not materialise unless leaders begin to reform themselves.
|
|
|
|
|
| BUSINESS SERVICES
|
Property
Appointments
Money Watch
Market Report
Capital Market
Business Travels
Maritime Watch
Industry Watch
Energy Report
Insurance
Compulife
|
|
|
|
|
