The Anambra State Government has said its 2020 annual budget would be relying heavily on the State Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
The Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and Development Partners, Mr Mark Okoye stated this while briefing newsmen on the breakdown of the 2020 budget over the weekend at the Government House Awka.
He briefed journalists along with his counterparts, Commissioner for Works, Mr Marcel Ifejiofor, Principal Secretary to the Governor, Sir Willie Nwokoye, as well as the Specialist Adviser to the Governor on Budget Implementation and Efficiency, Mr Melie Onyejepu.
He said the state government had presented a realistic budget to the state lawmakers for the year 2020 and assured the residents of better days ahead since most funds would be sourced through IGR without relaying much of federal allocations.
He stated that the state IGR was projected at N30 billion, at N2.5 billion monthly for 2020.
He also stated that over 3000 companies are registered in Anambra and many are operating effectively, noting that the state would make efforts to ensure they pay taxes.
According to the Commissioner, this was made possible due to the comprehensive reforms instituted in the state to drive revenue.
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He said that the government has instituted an in-built mechanism to checkmates leakages in the IGR generation.
Okoye said that on statutory allocations, the state government had adopted a crude oil benchmark of 55 dollars per barrel at an average of 2.18 million barrels per day, translating to a projected annual Federal Account Allocation of N 43 .7 billion, as against the 2019 budget figure of N40 billion.
He also stated that revenue from the value-added tax was projected at N15. 6 billion, representing a 46.2 per cent increase on the 2019 figure of N10. 6 billion.
According to him, other expected incomes, including grants, counterpart funds, aid, concessionary funding and federal government refunds are projected at N30 billion compared to N49.8 billion in the 2019 budget.
He said personnel costs for 2020 were estimated at N22. 8 compared with 2019 budget figure of N20.0 billion, total overheads were estimated at N22.3 billion, as against N25.1 billion in the 2019 budget.
He further disclosed that N16.0 billion was provided for in domestic debt financing, comprising of single-digit concessionary programme, lending for interventions on agriculture, manufacturing and youth entrepreneurship.
He urged all Ndi Anambra to pay their taxes, dues and levies to enable the government to meet up with 2020 budget and provide basic human amenities.
Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Works, Mr Ifejiofor who spoke on the Anambra cargo airport, level of road infrastructure in the state among others, said the government was budgeting the N6 billion because the governor had promised to complete the airport before the end of his tenure.
He also blamed most of the bad roads in the state on the previous administration of lack of maintenance culture.
According to him, Anambra state has the best roads network in the whole of South East and if not the country as a whole.
On his part during the briefing, the Principal Secretary to the Governor Obiano, Sir Willie Nwokoye, the budget was a deficit budget that has key assumptions that can erase the need to borrow.
Tribune Online had early reported that Governor Willie Obiano, on the 26th of September 2019 presented a 2020 draft estimates of N137.1 billion naira, tagged accelerated infrastructure development and youth entrepreneurship to the Anambra State House of Assembly.
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