2018 budget: Kwara to commit 70% on capital expenditure

GOVERNOR Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara state has said that the state government will commit 70 per cent of its 2018 budget to capital expenditure.

The governor made the disclosure in Ilorin on Wednesday during a stakeholder’s workshop on the state’s budgetary process.

According to the governor, “government shall reform land administration policy, focussing on land enumeration and collections of land charges to boost continuous insufficient federal allocation”

He also said that the budget would be dedicated to providing health and road infrastructures, agriculture and rural development and sustainable energy.

The governor said the government would fine-tune the health insurance law in order to benefit from a $200m international donor fund.

On education, the governor said International Vocational, Technical and Training Centre, IVTEC, Ajasse Ipo and renovation of classrooms at the basic level will receive adequate attention.

Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, Senior Special Assistant (Media and Communications), to the governor, Muideen Akorede said the governor promised to complete all ongoing projects including the renovation of the indoor hall of the state stadium complex, Gari Alimi Diamond Underpass and the secretariat complex.

According to Akorede, the governor urged the State House of Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the State Health Insurance Scheme Bill for the implementation of the scheme across the State, adding that government is ready to support primary education with the needed infrastructural facilities through the Universe Basic Education Commission facility once it pays its counterpart fund.

The meeting which was attended by members of the State House of Assembly and the State Executive Council, deliberated on alternative sources of revenue to augment the dwindling federal allocation and urged local government councils to optimise their internally generated revenue capacities.

Meanwhile, the state government has awarded contracts for the construction of Osi-Obbo-Aiyegunle-Ekiti state boundary road in Ekiti local government Area of kwara and Oke-Onigbin-Isanlu-Isin road in Isin local government of the state.

The commissioner for works, Aro Yahaha who briefed newsmen on the outcome of the weekly State Executive Council meeting said the 12-kilometre road in Ekiti local government would gulp N1.02billllion while about N425million would be expended on that of the Isin local government which is about 10 kilometres long.

Yahaya disclosed that the projects would be funded under IFK programme of the government, a programme where infrastructural projects are funded from revenue internally generated by tax collecting agency of the government, Kwara Internal Revenue Services (KWIRS).

He explained that the contractors for the projects would be paid the first tranche of project fund after they might have done 30 per cent of the works.