REMARKS BY DR. ALI AHMAD, RT. HON. SPEAKER KWHA ON THE OCCASSION OF PASSAGE OF 2016 KWARA STATE APPROPRIATION BILL 25/2/2016

Honourable colleagues, may I congratulate us all for the passage of the 2016 Appropriation Bill. The process was uncharacteristically rigorous as it was painstaking because this Assembly has set this year as a baseline against future appropriation laws.

The Bill that you have just passed introduced a few inputs based on the objectives, projections and policy thrusts of Government as enunciated in this hallowed Chambers by His Excellency, the Governor of Kwara State during the budget presentation on 22nd December, 2015. We must commend the Governor for his vision and tenacity in doing all that is necessary in ensuring that Kwara State remains afloat despite the gale of financial turbulence that has been our lot in the country for some time now. We have learnt our lessons from our record of low budget performance for previous years due to our reliance on deriving most of our revenues from federal allocations. In 2015 for instance, federal allocation accounted for about 80% of our recurrent revenue. This year, it is a meager 20%. Despite the economic downturn of the time, this House has raised the total size of 2016 budget from the proposed estimate of N116.16B to N128.10B, that is an increase of about N12B. If our resolve to achieve a minimum of 70% budget performance for 2016 is met, this will translate in injecting a total sum of N89.67B into the State economy compared with the actual performance of 2015 budget figure of N46.76B.

Although it may seem ambitious, this increase in our estimated revenue is achievable. The new and vibrant KWIRS has the collectible capacity and this House is currently in the process of amending the Revenue Service Law to further enhance its power and reach. From a meager N10.24B IGR in 2015, we expect a minimum of N32.63B this year.

Today we are happy that we have passed an Appropriation Bill that, when signed into law, will set Kwara on a path of sustained progress. We are happy because this Budget will pass most of the vital indices of a balanced and people-oriented budget. For instance, the total recurrent expenditure (non-debt) is N50.58B (42.88% of total budget) compared to capital expenditure of N67.35B (57.11% of the total budget). A capital expenditure of over 57% of total budget expenditure is a feat that overwhelming number of States and even federal government have found very difficult to achieve. It is indeed good here in Kwara State. I believe Kwarans will even be happier when they probe distribution pattern of the capital expenditure. We are spending N26.42B on economic affairs (39.2%); N14.67B on health(21.8); and N16.15B on education (24%). I give the Governor a pat on the back and felicitate with the good people of this State for a predictable prosperous year ahead. Why will we not be happy in Kwara when this is a State where a community may decide on any project relating to water, health, education, road or energy and government will provide 90% of the cost of the project while the community provides only 10% to own the project? Our rural communities are happy because when they pay only N500 per annum by enrolling in our world-acclaimed Community Health Insurance Scheme, the enrollee will have access to healthcare and free drugs for the entire year.

The only concern is of an escalated overhead figure. While the House will keep an eye on this item, it could be asserted that the figure is a provisional estimate to cater for the unknown effects and fallouts from the newly and commendable operation of the Treasury Single Account, especially as it relates tertiary institutions in the State. We are aware that the Governor has already commenced plans to control actual release for overhead items through secure online operations, biometrics and other initiatives such as IPPIS and GIFMIS or the establishment of efficiency units in the Ministries.

Honourable colleagues, having passed this budget of hope, the question is what next? A budget that is left unimplemented is no better than a policy proposal or a beautiful plan formulated perhaps by some maverick, first-class doctoral scholars. Whether this budget is implemented or not depends on the quality of oversight activity that we undertake. Budget is not another law, it is the most important law that is passed by any legislature for that year. While laws are made for the people in general, a budget is essentially a law of government by the government. Unlike other laws, its enforcement does not lie with the police or the judiciary, it lies with legislators and decisions and rulings issued from their hallowed chambers. We must police the budget and, in circumstances that its provisions are not being implemented, issue decrees and orders so to say as stipulated by the Constitution. We know that the highest political offence in our Constitution is non-implementation of the budget, and the sentence, when convicted by the legislature, is not imprisonment but capital political punishment.

Honourable colleagues, by passing this Bill we have raised the hopes and aspirations of our people. They will feel disappointed though if the total implementation performance does not shoot beyond the minimum goal of 70%. We must not allow this happen. This From today, Kwara should be like the proverbial Warri, "we should never carry last" again. The only place that we can carry last, so to say, is when considering things like HIV prevalence in the country. Currently we are at the bottom, we should remain there.

Another challenge is to ensure that of every N1.00 spent on capital project, no less than 70 kobo goes directly to that stated project. Verified data out there is that in Nigeria, for every N1.00 we claim to have spent on a project, only 30 Kobo is actually spent on that particular project. It is therefore equally our challenge to raise this 30k to 70 kobo. Honourable colleagues, are we ready to do this for our people? Are we ready to make the contractors accountable?

You should not bother about arm-chair political pundits who will criticize anything and everything coming out of the State. They do not offer alternatives, they do not offer constructive advice. In the spirit of moving Kwara forward, they should join this government. We invite them to analyse the facts and figures and present their critique so that we learn from their wisdom, if any. But if they will not, this is our Budget of Sustained Expansion. I am sure we will benefit from them if they will be more conceptual and rigorous than deceptive, more engaging thandetached, more rational than pedestrian, and more governance-oriented than partisan.

To my honourable colleagues, let us ensure that this budget is vigourously implemented. Let me end by urging us all to take our oversight functions seriously. To all of us in government, let us ensure pro-active implementation of the budget. That is the only way that the campaign promises of this Government will be delivered to the people.