Imo State Commissioner for Culture and Creative Arts, Mazi Uche Ohia (PhD), has commended the state’s Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Statistics for the processes it engages in producing transparent and citizen-centered reality annual budgets which have earned the state awards from the World Bank.
Mazi Uche Ohia gave the commendation when the Ministry of Culture and Creative Arts, and Ministry of Tourism appeared together before the State Budget Committee for the bilateral discussions on the 2023 Draft Budget of the Ministries.
While Mazi Uche Ohia led the Ministry of Culture and Creative Arts, the Commissioner for Tourism, Barr Jerry Egemba, led the Ministry of Tourism to the discussions held at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Statistics, Block 6, State Secretariat Complex, PortHarcourt Road, Owerri.
Mazi Ohia said, “we are quite impressed with the processes that have been put in place for budget preparation in Imo State.
“History will remember the Commissioner for Budget, Economic Planning and Statistics, Dr C.C. Osuala and the Budget Committee for their hard work and for ensuring that best practices are followed to produce budgets for Imo State Government”.
Speaking on the draft budget of the Ministries, Ohia stated, “the draft we are presenting is carefully prepared and it is realizable; as Ministries, we have done our best to ensure that we create innovations that enable us operate in a stressed economy as we have. We drive for revenue through our Ministries and Parastatals and we have received a Toyota Hiace bus from the State Government, however as field Ministries, we still have problems of logistics”.
In his remarks at the bilateral discussions, Commissioner for Tourism, Barr Jerry Egemba, said it was “a great privilege to stand as a Member of Imo State Executive Council to defend the budget of a Ministry.
“We have a realistic budget which we seek to implement if approved; we will generate revenue because if you can’t generate, you won’t have justification to ask for approvals to spend revenue”.
The Tourism Commissioner thanked Dr Osuala, whom he described as “capacity-oriented Commissioner”, for the opportunity given to his Ministry to discuss their draft budget.
In his welcome remarks, the Commissioner for Budget, Economic Planning and Statistics, Dr C.C Osuala, disclosed that recently Imo State received an Award of Excellence from the World Bank States Fiscal Transparency and Accountability Project (SFTAS) in recognition of the State Government’s strict adherence to accountable and transparent budgetary protocol.
The Budget Commissioner who said Imo State had earned over $11m (Eleven Million United States Dollars) for positive budgetary indices, informed the gathering that Imo State Budget is written in both a technical version and in a language the citizens understand, and that the budget is also published I Igbo Language as “Nkpata na Mmefu Ego Imo State”, adding that the state occupied the No 3 position among Nigeria’s 36 states in budgetary transparency.
On the prospects of increased revenue generation by the Ministry of Tourism, Dr C.C Osuala said, “Imo is known for hospitality; the Ministry of Tourism is most visible in the sense that we have a high density of hotels and other tourism establishments per square kilometer.
“Go to Imo State House of Assembly and rejig the existing fees, change the laws and charge fees that reflect current realities as against the provisions made some decades ago”.
The Acting Permanent Secretary Ministry of Budget, Economic Planning and Statistics, George Amakihe, said the Budget Committee had consulted stakeholder groups including Traditional Rulers, Town Unions, youth groups, people living with disabilities (PWD), and Civil Society Organizations, among others, for their inputs hence what is prepared is termed citizens budget.
The Permanent Secretary in charge of Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Culture and Creative Arts, Sir T.U.C Nwokonkwo, and top management staff of the Ministries attended the bilateral discussions.
NIGERIA NEWSPOINT
