Mba presents N521.6bn budget, restates commitment to rapid development

122

Governor Peter Mbah, yesterday, presented a N521.5 billion budget estimate to the Enugu State House of Assembly, the highest in the history of the state.

Mbah said the estimate, being his administration’s first full year budget proposal, will go a long way in setting the pace for the achievement of the state’s growth objectives.

The governor said it was 132 per cent higher than that of the revised 2023 budget of over N210 billion.

He said the budget was made up of N107.2 billion recurrent expenditure and N414.3 billion capital expenditure.

He gave the breakdown of the recurrent expenditure to include opening balance of N11 billion, Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) N252 billion, statutory revenue N60 billion, excess crude and others N16 billion and Value Added Tax (VAT) N44 billion.

The governor said 33 per cent of the budget would go into the education sector, adding that the government had started the construction of 260 ultra-modern smart schools in all the political wards of the state.

“These schools are unique not only in the fact that they would house the entire basic school classes from Crèche to JS3, but also in terms of the significant changes. We are making the curriculum of the children, where we will be infusing new subject areas like technology, robotics, artificial intelligence.

“In addition, the approach to teaching in these schools will be experiential, with extensive use of practical examples, dramatisation, gamification.

“This naturally requires extensive re-training of our teachers to enable them to grasp these new learning approaches as well as the various technology-based teaching and learning tools which we shall deploy tablets, interactive white boards, learning management systems,’’ he said.

On the health sector, Mbah said N22.8 billion had been budgeted to enhance healthcare facilities, expand access to quality healthcare services, and bolster response to health emergencies.

He said the goal was to ensure every citizen had access to reliable and efficient healthcare services.

“We pledge to upgrade healthcare facilities, ensure the availability of essential medicines, and implement initiatives to enhance public health awareness. In particular, we have commenced the construction of 260 Type-2 Primary Health Centres across the 260 wards in the state to cater for the health needs of rural communities,” he said.

Receiving the budget, Speaker Uche Ugwu assured that the lawmakers would give it speedy passage to enable the government execute its developmental agenda.