Okowa budgets N265.6 for 2016

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State on Tuesday December 8, 2015 presented a budget proposal of N265.6 billion for 2016 to the Delta State House of Assembly.

In the budget proposal, the governor disclosed that N153.6 billion of the amount was for Recurrent Expenditure, while Capital Expenditure stood at N112.5 billion.

The 2016 budget christened: “Budget of Renewed Hope and Inclusive Development’’ showed a marginal increase of N12.7 billion when compared to the 2015 amended budget of N252.9billion.

According to the Governor, “following fluctuating price of the crude oil in the international market, his administration was determined to stabilize the revenue of the state by broadening the tax base”. As a result, we have proposed to earn N75.3 billion as revenue receipts from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in 2016.

The sum of N137.9 billion is expected from Statutory Allocation from the Federation Account in the 2016 fiscal year.

The proposal for capital receipts for 2016 have been scaled down from N59.1 billion in the 2015 revised budget to N42.1 billion in 2016.’’

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa explained that expected revenue from Value Added Tax (VAT) was N10.2 billion, while other capital receipts would be N42.1 billion and that the Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission, DESOPADEC had the lion share of N28 billion of the budget proposal. He said this was in line with the funding prescription of the law setting up the commission.

The environmental sector had N26.9billion followed by the economic sector with N23.8billion and that N2.2 billion had been proposed in the budget for job creation, agricultural support package and wealth creation scheme.

The scheme would continue to receive priority attention, adding “we have recorded remarkable success in implementing the various entrepreneurship/vocational skills training programmes’’, he averred.

Okowa assured that his administration would continue to observe the basic principles of prudent management of public finances.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Monday Igbuya, assured the governor that the budget would be carefully scrutinized to meet the expectations of the people of the State.

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