By Mike Adeyemi
The recently passed 2021 Kwara State budget by the State House of Assembly has been described as flawed having prioritised recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure.
Speaking on the issue, an economist who also doubles as the Head of Department of Economics, Kwara State University, Malete, Dr. Monsur Olatunji Shasi said this during a telephone chart with our reporter on Sunday.
According to the Don, “Any state or country that downplay capital expenditure over recurrent in its fiscal planning is flawed and detrimental to economic growth.’
“Though I haven’t seen the recently passed Kwara budget, however, any budget that had recurrent expenditure higher than capital is anti development.
“The place of capital expenditure in any budgeting plans can’t be downplayed as it is bent to providing the most of the economic development. We should pay more attention on that.
“Capital budgets focus on business growth and improvements, while recurrent budgets focus on standard operations. Though, there are times when the two interact”, Shasi said.
He added that it is unfortunate that Nigerian governments often times misplaced fiscal priorities by earmarking huge provision for recurrent expenditure at the detriment of capital expenditure which is a propeller to economic development.
“Most of Nigerian governments often times give more rooms for recurrent expenditure over capital expenditure simply because to meet up with their monthly runnings, and that is why they employed more aids.
“If much priority is given to capital expenditure, it will be beneficial to the country or a state. Economic growth has to do with physical development,” he concluded.
The Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq late last year had presented the fiscal proposal to the House.
In the proposed N123 billion budget, the Governor said the government was prioritising the new national minimum wage, cash-backed promotion for workers, tech-driven reforms in the education sector and other social investments.
The governor later asked the lawmakers to increase the budget to N134.9 billion.
The lawmakers then reviewed the budget even higher to N137.6 billion, according to a statement by the media aide to the Speaker, Ibrahim Sheriff.
He said the budget estimate was passed after considering the Report of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation on the budget proposal at the Committee of Supply and laid before the House.
Presenting the report on Thursday, the committee chairman, Ibrahim Ambali, representing Owode-Onire Constituency, said the proper implementation of the budget would turn around the economic fortunes of the state.
Mr Ambali said the state government has taken appropriate measures to tap into its internal resources to improve the well-being of the people.
He said the legislature was ready to support the executive through constant oversight functions on capital projects to ensure transparency.
Recall that the Kwara State House of Assembly Thursday passed the N137.6 billion 2021 Appropriation Bill into law.
The budget consists of 51 per cent recurrent expenditure and 49 per cent capital expenditure waiting for the governor’s assent.
