By Kamsi Anayo
Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state on Tuesday presented a draft budget of N410 billion for the year 2024 to the state House of Assembly for approval.
Soludo said the proposed budget tagged- ‘Changing Gears: The Transformation Agenda Begins’, was aimed at beginning the transformation agenda and implementing a new master plan to build a liveable and prosperous homeland.
He said that the budget was made up of N313.9 billion capital expenditure, accounting for 77 per cent compared with 63.2 per cent in the previous budget.
According to him, N 96.2 billion was allocated for recurrent expenditure, translating to 23.46 per cent against 36.8 per cent in the previous budget.
The governor said that the budget had deficit of N120 billion expected to be funded through a facility from financial institutions.
“We recorded an estimated 66 per cent budget performance in 2023 and today Anambra is ranked number one among the 17 southern state on ease of doing business and number two with lowest impact mortality rate.
“Internally Generated Revenue remains a fundamental challenge. In the 2023 budget, we expected a monthly revenue of about N4 billion, so far, we are averaging N2billion.
“We are projecting N4.2 billion as monthly IGR in the 2024 budget and this is a wake-up call to all residents that we cannot build a liveable and prosperous homeland if we do not pay tax.
“With the 2024 proposed budget, we hope to consolidate on ongoing projects. Our teachers, students, poor and vulnerable will smile because we are determined to maximise value for the people of Anambra,” he said.
Receiving the budget, the Speaker of the House, Mr Somtochukwu Udeze, appreciated the Governor for the massive transformation projects going on the state.
Udeze assured the governor that the draft budget would receive expeditious consideration.
Our Correspondent reports that the difference between the former budget (N260 billion) and the proposed budget (N410 billion) is N150 billion, which is a 57.8 per cent increase.