Lagos Budget Performance Falls by 4%

The budget performance of Lagos State in the first quarter of 2013 has recorded a marginal decline of four per cent from a performance of 65 per cent the state recorded in the same period in 2012.

The decline was revealed at the weekend, after the first quarterly budget review in Alausa, where Governor Babatunde Fashola said the performance would surpass what was recorded in the overall review of the 2012 fiscal year.

At a session with journalists, Fashola said the budget recorded a performance of 61 per cent in the first quarter even as the administration “remains firmly committed to surpassing the overall performance of 89 per cent recorded in 2012.”
He explained that the 61 per cent budget performance “is slightly down from performance in the first quarter of 2012 which was 65 per cent,” thereby ascribing the decline to the nature of the economy at the beginning of the fiscal year.

He explained that the first-quarter report for the 2013 budget “has been received. The result was a 61 per cent budget performance slightly down from performance in the first quarter of 2012 which was 65 per cent.
Though declined from what the state recorded in the first quarter of the last fiscal year, the governor said he remained committed “to improving upon our overall performance of 89 per cent at the end of the year 2012.”

He explained that in spite of the fact that the 2013 budget “is also a budget that was dedicated to complete existing projects, the performance capacity will improve in the second quarter subject to funding as a major challenge.

“But in terms of the impact of the budget, I think it all speaks for itself. Fitch rating for the state economy from stable to positive and from improved service delivery extending to Saturdays, there is a total output for service delivery which is what a budget should do.
“Connect with reality in terms of projects that are coming to completion in terms of the housing  projects, road projects, school  projects, so by the by we are on our way”, Fashola explained.

He gave insight into what could have accounted for the first quarter report, explaining that it was understandable when one “takes a look at what typically happens in the first quarter with many construction firms shutting down for Christmas and starting off again early in the year.”

Governor Babatunde Fashola

Fashola added that nothing could happen without stability and peace, urging the residents “to be law-abiding voluntarily because if there is a safe environment, the government can focus more on developmental issues.

“People have respected each other’s diversity, religious and ethnic, and we can only encourage them to continue to do that. After that of course is the citizens’ involvement in government by discharging their obligations to honestly and fully disclose their income and promptly pay taxes that is due on such income. That is the citizen end of the social contract. In that way, they can hold us responsible and accountable to how the resources they put at our disposal are utilised,” he said.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Ben Akabueze, said the state “has done reasonably well in terms of revenue generation and management. We have done reasonably well in terms of expenditure management but we just need to intensify efforts with our project completion.”

He enjoined the people to regularly pay their taxes and recognise the fact that the budget belongs to them, adding that when people talk about success of the budget it is in terms of what extent it delivers value to the people.