2021 BUDGET IS INTENDED TO ACCELERATE ECONOMIC RECOVERY SAYS GOVERNOR WIKE

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has presented the 2021 Appropriation Bill of over Four Hundred Billion Naira to the State House of Assembly for consideration and passage.

Christened “Budget of Recovery and Consolidation”, the budget is intended to accelerate economic recovery, create opportnities for social progress, enhance human capital development and tackle poverty, strengthen the state infrastructure base to accelerate economic development and create a path way to food security and improve wellbeing through mechanized agriculture.

The State Chief Executive Stated that the breakdown of the budget indicated that over One Hundred and Forty-two Billion Naira was proposed for Recurrent Expenditure while over Three Hundred and five Billion Naira was earmarked for Capital Expenditure.

Governor Wike said the 2021 budget would be funded from the Federal Account and Allocation Committe, thirteen percent oil minerals fund, Internally Generated Revenue, Value Added Tax, excess crude oil deductions, domestic and foreign credits as well as grants.

He said the Recurrent Expenditure would be spent to meet government expenditure for salaries and wages, overheads and new recruitment of five thousand workers.

The Governor who said the Capital Expenditure would be deplored to advance economic growth, and infrastructural development of the state among others stated that a total portfolio of Sixteen Billion Naira was allocated to the Minitry of Agriculture, Thirty Billion Naira to the Ministry of Education, over Twenty-five Billion Naira to the Ministry of Health and over Eighty-Two Billion Naira to the Ministry of Works with a view to completing ongoing key projects in different parts of the state as well as starting new ones.

He emphasized that over Nineteen Billion Naira had been allocated to the relevant MDAs to stimulate economic growth and fund social and and economic investment schemes to support development of small and medium scale business to creat employment for the youths.