By Ayodele Oni
Building of health centres in 174 wards and payment of the new minimum wage to some categories of workers, were some of the highlights in the over N110 billion 2021 budget proposal presented to the Ekiti state House of Assembly on Tuesday by Governor Kayode Fayemi.
The budget, christened Budget of Recovery and Economic Restoration, had an increment of 20 percent over that of the outgoing year.
According to the Governor, recurrent expenditure will gulp over N57 billion while Capital expenditure has N51 billion .
Addressing the house, Governor Fayemi explained that the budget proposal was a product of consultation and meetings with members of the public through town hall meetings
Dr Fayemi explained that the budget was in tune the current economic realities occasioned by the global pandemic, corona virus and targeted at rebuilding the economic drive of the state.
He was confident that 2021 appropriation bill would lift the people of the state out of poverty through massive empowerment and social security schemes.
Sources of funds for the budget, he revealed are federal allocation, value added tax, Internally Generated Revenue as well as support from development partners.
Speaking on the implementation of 2020 budget, Governor Fayemi explained that though the pandemic created a big challenge, his government was able to deliver on the budget through prompt payment of salaries, free education, free health care for the vulnerable members, inauguration of many noble projects among others.
The Governor, however, announced his determination to commence the payment of the consequential adjustment for the N30K thousand new minimum wage for workers from grade level eight and above, noting that the necessary requirements have been captured in the budget.
Earlier in his address of welcome, the Speaker of the house, Mr Funminiyi Afuye said the budget proposal would be thoroughly scrutinized and given prompt passage by the assembly.
