The Anambra State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs. Chiamaka Nnake, says the state is the second in the country to automate the budget process.
Mrs Nnake stated this in Awka during a stakeholders consultative meeting on Anambra State’s proposed 2024 Annual Budget and the 2024-2026 medium term expenditure and assumption.
The consultative meeting was to facilitate participation, inclusiveness, consensus building, accountability, transparency and the rule of law in the budget process, and attracted Commissioners from other ministries in the state, traditional rulers, Presidents General of communities, representatives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, non-governmental organizations, among other stakeholders.
The participants made inputs on the budget in order to ensure all round development and good governance in Anambra.
The Budget Commissioner explained that the forum was to intimate the participants who had played a major role in the bilateral meetings on the priorities of the state government in the coming fiscal year.
Mrs Nnake maintained that they will also confirm from the meeting that the key deliverables are captured for 2024; reflecting the needs of Ndi Anambra, and pointed out that the feedback gotten shows that the ministry is very close and will align itself with the views of all those gathered so that when the budget is presented by the Governor to the state House of Assembly, he will be sharing the wills and mind of Ndi Anambra.
In his response, following the 2024-2026 medium term expenditure and assumption presented, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike, said the ministry is targeting to consolidate success in the health sector, and that they are intentionally ensuring that there are General Hospitals in each of the local governments areas in the state.
Dr Obidike added that the budget will also make sure that there is at least one Primary Health Center in all the wards in the state; while they will erect a cancer diagnosis center to increase life expectancy in the stat.
Contributing, the Commissioner for Entertainment, Culture and Tourism, Comrade Don Onyenji; said that his ministry will speed up all the projects in the sector; such as the Solution Fun-City, as well as other activities geared towards promoting core Igbo values.
Some of the traditional rulers who made remarks at the meeting, including the traditional ruler of Aguleri, Igwe Dr Micheal Idigo, asked that the budget should address the peculiar issues facing riverine areas; such as flooding, especially by providing shelters and other needs of the communities; while his Neni counterpart, Igwe Damian Ezeani, called for more attention to issues of security to allow Ndi Anambra to come home and invest, which he said will help to raise the internally generated revenue.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs. Stephanie Keri-Uzor, disclosed that a good presentation by the government depends entirely on the stakeholders’ efforts and expertise in all the important meetings held.
Speaking on behalf of the Presidents General, Mr Donatus Orji commended Professor Chukwuma Soludo for the One Youth, Two skills” initiative, and called for a social re-orientation unit for the youths so that they will know the negative effects of patronizing and reviving idolatry and other get-rich-quick-syndrome schemes.
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