Anambra state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Tuesday, presented a budget estimate of N410, 132,225,272 for the 2024 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly, noting that it would be funded through income tax and internally generated revenue (IGR).
According to Soludo, the budget estimate which shows an increment of 57.8% if compared to the year 2023 estimate of N258, 984,875,905, has a recurrent expenditure of N96.2 billion and capital expenditure of N313.9 billion.
“Budget deficit is estimated at N120.8 billion. Relative to 2023, some key sectors have significant increases: Administrative sector (50.85%); Economic sector (103.43%); Judiciary sector (72.9%); Social sector (60.24%); Education (140.88%); Health (169.55%); Infrastructure investment (119.84%); Overhead costs (34.1%); etc.
“With the abundant resources that God has blessed Ndi Anambra with, there is literally nothing that we collectively set our minds to that we cannot achieve for our homeland. We have the Plan and the organization to execute. But we need resources. If each of us pays just 5-10% of our annual income as tax to the State, the Anambra of our dream will be fast-tracked.
“In the proposed 2024 budget, there is a deficit of ₦120 billion expected to be funded through a facility from financial institution(s). Be rest assured that we won’t borrow unless it satisfies two stringent criteria we have set: a) it must be a concessionary loan; and b) it must be deployed to projects that we can show how they would pay back the loan in the future,” he stated.
The Speaker, Anambra state House of Assembly, Mr. Somtochukwu Udeze, who presided over the plenary, commended the governor for various ongoing projects in the State, assuring that the estimate would be given accelerated hearing and passage.
