The Kwara State government at the weekend said the recent review of the 2020 budget was to reflect the current global economic realities in manners that align with basic needs of the populace.
Commissioner for Finance and Planning, Olasunmbo Oyeyemi Florence, who disclosed this at a public dissemination meeting on the revised 2020 budget, said the review largely accommodated public observations as expressed in previous engagements with the citizens on the budget.
The meeting was attended by senior government officials and civil servants, communitybasedorganisations, civilsociety organisations, traditional rulers, associations of traders, women and youths.
The commissioner said the meeting had been called to keep the public abreast of the latest developments regarding the financial document, reiterating that the present administration was trying its best to make the budget process more participatory and give citizens a say in all stages of the process, with a view to enhancing transparency, accountability, and good governance in the state.
“The purpose of today’s meeting is to clearly explain the key changes between the original 2020 budget and the recently passed 2020 revised budget at the state House of Assembly and assentedtobyGovernorAbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. “You will recall that some stakeholders participated in the 2020 revised budget preparation process and the need to feed you back on the final approval becomes imperative,” she said.
“You are all aware that budgets are tools for transforming development plans into implementable programmes and projects. If well implemented they will translate the intention of the government into concrete and verifiable reality
“The preparation of the revised 2020 budget was informed by the COVID-19 pandemic that resultedinasharpfallof oilprice and production in the international market with the attendant drop in revenue for the country.
