By AbdulSalam Muhammad
KANO – GOVERNOR Abdullahi Umar Ganduje Wednesday presented a total sum of N209.8 billion as proposed appropriation bill for 2017 fiscal year to the State House of Assembly.

The proposed budget that was tagged “Sustainable Self Reliance Budget” has N130.4 as capital expenditure and N79.3 as recurrent expenditure.

Ganduje revealed that, the Recurrent revenue projection stands at N143.7 billion, with N46.10 billion as internally generated revenue (IGR) and N96.9 billion expected from the federation allocation.

Ganduje disclosed that, “Recurrent expenditure is higher than the 2016 fiscal year with N774.3 million, which stands at .079 percent. While IGR is lower than that of the 2016 fiscal year with 8.4 percent. ”

The governor explained that the drop in the IGR, was not unrelated to the current economic hardship being faced in the country.

“While the capital expenditure is less than that of last year by N59.8 billion,” he emphasised. Adding that, part of the areas that would finance the budget with their sums, would be N26.2 billion from internal loans and N32.5 billion as expected grants, amongst others.

Ganduje

Education was one the sectors that take lead in the budget document, with the sum of N17.5 billion sets aside for the sector. Ganduje said, “We want remain steadfast and committed towards improving the quality of our education. That is why we are giving high priority to the sector. ”

He further highlighted that, the sum of N500 million would be used for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of classrooms, N640 million would be used for the construction of staff residences, toilets and others.

According to him, the sum of N8 billion was set for capital projects in the education sector, stressing that, “…the sum of N1 billion will be for the completion of abandoned Technical Colleges in the state. While the sum of N2.4 billion will go to the completion of some projects at the Northwest University, Kano.”

A total of fifty laboratories, according to the governor, would take the sum of N265 million for their furnishing and equipping in secondary schools of the state.

Health sector takes the sum of N10.7 billion, with N2.5 billion for general expansion and rehabilitation of Murtala Muhammed Specialist General Hospital.

“The sum of N3.4 billion will be used to strengthen the control of HIV/AIDS, malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia and other child killer diseases, ” he stated.

Twelve Primary Healthcare Centres would be upgraded in the 2017 fiscal year, with the total sum of N1.1 billion, the governor revealed.

To further strengthen security at the grassroot level, Ganduje disclosed that, the sum of N800 million would be used to have Hisbah Academy and Manpower Development Centre.

Included in the budget were some roads that were abandoned in some parts of the state, in the last twelve years and some were abandoned in the last six years.

Water sector takes N13.6 billion, “…being one of our cardinal principle in this administration. That is proper and quality water supply. ”