The Kwara State Government has evaluated the 2017 budget and rated its performance at 68 per cent since it was passed in March, 2017.
The state Commissioner for Planning and Economic Development, Alhaji Wasiu Odewale made the disclosure during a one- day workshop on effective and efficient budgeting process for tertiary institutions in the state on Tuesday at Kwara State Library.
He said, “The performance of this year’s budget is rated at 68 percent, though the projected revenue from the federal allocation is not forthcoming. We are only using the Internally Generated Revenue to augment and that is why you can see the government is working tremendously.
“But I can tell you that things will be different in 2018 because we need to increase revenue avenues such as getting all the houses enumerated, so that they can start paying tax,” he added.
The commissioner stressed that the government is focusing on infrastructural development and improving the educational sector, among others.
On the workshop, he explained that the target is for the tertiary institutions to understand the rudiment of 2018 budget.
Odewale said “It is in the light of having a good budgetary preparation by all the tertiary institutions in 2018 fiscal year that the workshop is fashioned out to address and resolve some identified grey areas arising from the budget preparation observed during the 2017 revised exercise.
“Today, we are happy that Kwara State University, Kwara State Polytechnic and College of Health Technology, Offa are proving that they have the revenue to survive on their own. We want to encourage other institutions to take a cue from that.
According to him, the budget for the tertiary institutions is an inclusive budget as the state government is providing an enabling environment for them to articulate their plans very well rather than relying fully on government alone.
He noted that the forum is also aimed at blocking all the leakages in the various tertiary institutions in the state.
