Borno Prepares N7 Billion COVID-19 2020 Budget, Targets N10 Billion IGR Next Year.... Zau Fanjumba
Borno State Government has tageted N10 billion internally generated revenue for the year 2021 following increase in its internally generated revenue of N6.6 billion in the first quarter of the year 2020 which exceed it's budgeted Target of N4.6 billion.
He revealed that the ministry has reviewed 2020 budget and came out with COVID-19 budget of about N7 billion and 30% of the 2020 budget while establsihing website and other centers on state finance and revenue generation among others.
The State Commissikner of Finance, Budget and Planning, Alhaji Adamu Lawan Zau Fanjumba disclosed this yeaterday during an inter-ministerial press briefing held on Friday at the multipurpose hall of the Government House Maiduguri.
He added that the State Ministry of Finance has already introduced Treasury Single Account (TSA) and establsihed fiscal management account systems for all other funds such as Trustfunds, MDAs towards ensuring transparency and accountability in the state financial systems including salaries and allowances accounts, pension accounts and gratuities which have been paid to the workers and retirees accordingly.
According to him, verifications were conducted in the pension accounts and workers gratuities on the directive of the governor including salary account where some discrepancies were discovered and rectified while payments were also made to workers and retirees worth billions of naira.
He also revealed that the govenror has approved the purchase of new 25 official vehicles to the state executive council members from the Peugeot Assembly of Nigeria (PAN), Kaduna worth hundreds of millions of naira which will soon be delivered .
The commissioner further explained that the 2020 budget performance in the first quarter stood at about 42% due to the COVID-19 pandemuc that paralyzed socio economic activities in the state, country and the world at large
He also said that the reason for the increase in the internal revenue of the state despite the COVID-19 pandemic was as a result of the accumulated federal PAYE to the state worth about N2.8 billion which only about 25% was paid and remitted to the state Treasury
Zau Fanjumba noted that the ministry was saddled with the responsibility of preparing budgets, monitoring and supervising capital expenditures and budget implementation among others as well as revenue generation, four operational departments were created to ease work such as Finance Office, Accountant General's Office, Budget and Planning Office and Board of Internal Revenue.
He said the ministry has maintained consistency in payments of salaries and allowances including leave grants and pensions while 155 vehicles have been purchased to argument the fleet of Government House vehicles in the last one year.
The commissioner added that 255 workers were paid gratuity worth N1.5 billion, 240 retirees N463 million and payment of another 546 pensioners had commenced since May 2020 while the ministry adopted computerization of payments of all ministries and departments alongside monitoring expenditures and budget implementation, virements and supplementary budgets preparations.