2020 fiscal year: Bauchi cuts down recurrent expenditures, jerks up capital expenditures

In a complete departure from the usual system of budgeting which gives preference to Recurrent expenditures, Bauchi State Government has increased Capital expenditures for the 2020 fiscal year to 57 per cent while recurrent was reduced to 43 per cent.

While giving the breakdown of the 2020 proposed budget, Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Aminu Hassan Gamawa explained that the development followed the determination of the PDP led administration to develop the state to compete with its neighbour.

He also said that the new system will cut down the excesses in payment of salaries, allowances, pension and gratuities following the recent verification to determine the exact number of civil servants in the state.

The Commissioner however assured that the sum of over N8b has been set aside for salaries, allowances, pension and gratuities which he said is not a privilege but a right of every civil servant while another sum of N800m is to spent on allowances for political aides.

Hassan Gamawa added that capital projects spread across the state will be embarked upon in the 2020 fiscal year the more reason for the increase in the capital expenditures and the reduction of recurrent expenditures.

In the health sector, he said that 200 health facilities across the state will either be rehabilitated, reconstructed, equipped and or made effectively functional to provide quality healthcare delivery services to the people.

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The education sector too will be given required attention in line with the priority of the administration which is to ensure that there is quality education, stressing that the SUBEB will be strengthened and supported through the prompt release of counterpart funding.

Also captured in the 2020 budget appropriation according to the Commissioner is the demographic redoing of Bauchi master plan to ensure that land and space was utilized for the purpose it is meant for in order to check disaster just as work and other forms of employment opportunities will be created for youth and women.

Aminu Gamawa assured that every business outfit in the state will have one benefit or the other during the direct Labour system to be adopted by the administration considering the focus of the budget which is ‘Renewal of Hope’.

He then assured that as soon as the budget was approved and passed by the State House of Assembly, it will be made public through various platforms and domains challenging the media to participate in the tracking process of the budget in order to ensure that it was fully and diligently implemented.

While coordinating the media briefing, Commissioner of Information and Communication, Dr Ladan Salihu urged Journalists to do away with the journalism of perception but engage in constructive criticism of government activities.

He added that the government tried to embark on projects that are implementable and trackable because according to him, “our administration is adopting the axiom of cutting our clothes according to the available materials and not according to the size.

Ladan Salihu assured that government is trying everything possible to sort out the problem with some inherited abandoned projects saying that as soon as the issues were sorted out all the project will be completed for the benefit of the people of Bauchi State.

The Commissioner then appealed that the administration should not be judged quickly because according to him, it is too early to do that now.