Seriki Adinoyi in Jos
Plateau State Governor, Hon. Simon Lalong, has signed the revised 2020 Appropriation Bill into law. The 2020 Budget was revised from N177,340, 521,174.00 to N122, 848,822,913.00.
Lalong, while performing the ceremony at the new Government House at Rayfield in Jos, said the revised budget became necessary because of the need to take care of the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic which has greatly affected the economy of the state.
According to him, “For us as a state, the impact has been huge as our earnings have drastically fallen even in the face of demands for funds to carry out statutory responsibilities and also respond to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. “That is why we engaged in various cost-cutting measures to enable us manage the lean resources efficiently and also try to fulfill our most basic responsibilities of providing services to our citizens.”
The governor reiterated the commitment of his administration to working through this challenging period by effectively applying available resources to the most critical areas that would benefit the citizens and assist in bequeathing a lasting legacy for the people of the state.
He directed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning as well as all MDAs to ensure its strict and effective implementation in line with extant financial regulations.
Lalong also stated that a reputable revenue collection firm has been engaged to improve on revenue targets, especially the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) which he said is crucial to funding the 2020 budget.
He explained that the state government would continue to strengthen the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA); the Efficiency Unit; Bureau for Public Procurement; Liquidity Management Committee, as well as the Project Monitoring and Result Delivery Unit (PMRDU) to maximize resources and eliminate wastages.
The state Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mr. Sylvester Wallangko, explained that the revised budget consists of N42.8 billion for capital expenditure and N79.9 billion for recurrent expenditure, adding that the revised budget is in deficit of twenty seven billion, seven hundred and nine million, four hundred and twenty one naira, and will be funded from loans from domestic and external sources.
