CSO rates Ondo high in budget implementation

CSO rates Ondo high in budget implementation

A Civil Society Organisation, Policy Alert, has commended the Ondo State Government for prioritising critical sectors in the state budget implementation during the third quarter of 2023.

The organisation, which promotes fiscal and ecological justice in the Niger Delta, said it rated the Sunshine State high, following its assessment of the Niger Delta states in the last quarter of the year.

In a statement issued, on Wednesday, by its Program Officer, Fiscal Reforms and Anti-Corruption, Comrade Faith Paulinus, the organisation disclosed that Ondo State, out of the nine Niger Delta states, topped the chart for prioritizing key human development sectors such as health, education, water, sanitation, and hygiene as well as agriculture.

The statement read in part, “We are impressed that attention was given to these key development sectors in capital expenditure as the social sector alone recorded a release of N2.7 billion, 73 per cent higher than the administrative sector which had a total release of N1.56billion.”

The statement noted that although the spending priority of the government as regards capital release was commendable, the government needed to prioritize its capital spending above the recurrent budget.

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However, the CSO expressed its displeasure over the alleged foreign loan taken by the state government within the period under review, stressing that it was doubtful that the loan got the approval of the state Assembly.

“A review of the expenditure pattern showed that out of the N48.21 billion spent during the quarter, a total of N33.33 billion went to recurrent expenditure while capital expenditure had N14.88 billion. This implies that what was spent for the cost of governance was 124 per cent higher than the capital expenditure. This is not a healthy approach to public expenditure management for any society that wants to grow.

“We could not find any records or reports indicating that the request and subsequent approval for this loan were ever discussed at plenary by the state House of Assembly.

“Taking loans without the approval of the state House of Assembly is illegal and a gross affront to the powers of the House of Assembly. We call on the Executive to stop this negative trend and the Ondo State House of Assembly to live up to its oversight responsibility,” the statement read.

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