Ondo State begins citizens engagement on 2020 budget

The Ondo State Government has reiterated its readiness to harness her abundant human and natural resources with a view to transforming the state to one of the most developed states in the country.

According to the government, this plan will be made possible through the strategic implementation of projects and programmes in the state.

The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Emmanuel Igbasan, gave this hint at the second edition of the ministry’s consultative meeting with different interest groups on Monday in Akure.

Igbasan said the consultative meetings with different groups and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on the 2020 budget and 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) were part of the government’s inclusive governance.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the groups present at the meeting included; Persons with Disabilities (PWD), Coalition of Civil Societies Organisations (CSOs), Non-Govermental Organisations (NGOs) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs).

He said that it was in continuation of the steps by Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu-led administration in the state that necceciated strategic consultative engagement process with relevant organisations for the preparation of the state budget.

According to him, the Ondo State budget now assumes a bottom-up approach, whereby the government executes what the people really need and not what the government thinks they need.

Igbasan said the interaction would enable the government to capture areas of top priority of the groups, while it would also help foster better relationships with the people, and create awareness of what the government was doing to enable them to take ownership of the process.

The commissioner noted that the budget was not just arbitrary figures, but represents the translation of government’s promises and manifestos into concrete projects and programmes.

Igbasan reiterated the unalloyed commitment of the Akeredolu-led administration to always make the well being of people the central focus of government activities.

He noted that most of the issues raised at the last year’s edition of consultative meeting with Persons with Disabilities had all been attended to by the government.

The commissioner stated that the governor had appointed a Special Adviser on persons with a disability while aboard for the group had also been constituted.

He, therefore, called on various organisations and groups in the society to come up with their priorities and contributions to achieve an all-inclusive budget that would develop the state and improve the living standard of the people.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Bunmi Alade, said the forum was meant to enhance transparency and accountability in the budget preparation process of the state.

Also, the director of the budget, Mr Stephen Aworere, while presenting the 2020-2022 MTEF and the 2020 budget projections, said that MTEF was a three-year planning tool used in the estimation of the aggregate resource base of the government.

He stated that the rationale behind the adoption of MTEF included the accurate estimation of resources available to the state within the medium term planning horizon.

The representatives of each group lauded Akeredolu for the various infrastructure development across the state and called for the economic empowerment of their members.