From Ron-well Jacob, Jos.
The Plateau Governor, Dr Simon Lalong on Wednesday signed into law the revised 2020 Appropriation Bill into law.
The budget was revised from the initial N177. 34 billion to N122. 84 billion representing a decrease of N5.1 billion.
Lalong, who appended his signature to the bill at the new Government House, Little Rayfield, Jos, said, “the revised budget became necessary because of the need to take care of the realities of COVID-19 which has greatly affected the economy of the State.”
The Governor explained that the impact of COVID-19 has been huge as the earnings of the state have drastically fallen even in the face of demands for funds to carry out statutory responsibilities and also respond to the challenges of the virus.
He argued, “That is why we engaged in various cost-cutting measures to enable us manage the lean resources efficiently and also try to fulfill our most basic responsibilities of providing services to our citizens”.
The Governor reiterated his administration”s commitment to pass through the challenging period by effectively applying available resources to the most critical areas that would benefit the people and assist it in bequeathing a lasting legacy.
He directed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning as well as all MDAs to ensure strict and effective implementation of the budget in line with extant financial regulations.
Lalong disclosed that funding of the budget, would be mainly from internally generated revenue (IGR).
According to him, a revenue collection firm has been engaged to improve on revenue targets, “especially our IGR, which is crucial to funding the 2020 budget.”
He also stated that the Government would continue to strengthen the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA); as well as strengthen the Efficiency Unit, Bureau for Public Procurement, Liquidity Management Committee, the Project Monitoring and Result Delivery Unit (PMRDU) to maximise resources and eliminate wastages.