Delta State government on Monday said it received a total of N1.13 trillion from the federation account from May 2007, to last September, representing 110 percent performance out of the projected revenue estimates of N1.03 trillion.
BusinessDay reports that the state also recorded N195.975 billion from the internally generated revenue during the period under review, out of the targeted N261.869 billion, representing 74.84 percent.
The state commissioner of finance, Kenneth Okpara, who gave the hint in Asaba at the ongoing mid-term ministerial press briefing, said the state government was indebted to the tune of N38 billion as of last December, noting that the debts were to local contractors and not foreign.
Okpara put the aggregate expenditure incurred by the state government during the period under review at N1.45 trillion, comprising N773.45 billion as recurrent and N676.13 billion as capital expenditure, as against N845.38 billion and N1.18 trillion for recurrent and capital expenditure, respectively.
He said the budget performance for both recurrent and capital expenditure represented 91.49 and 54.67 percent, respectively.
He also added that the sum of N179. 376.617.222.52 billion was disbursed to the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) in the past six years to execute various projects in the oil producing communities across the state
The commissioner further posited that the state under its investment arm invested N14.372.467.052.60 billion for the acquisition of quoted and unquoted investments as of last September, while it received a dividends of N3.983.712.576.35 billion in the last six years.
He explained that the state government received N120 million grant from the State Employment and Expenditure for Results (SEEFOR) for the development of six technical schools.
He said N20 million was given to each of the technical schools to fund their school improvement plan such as procurement of basic equipment, capacity building and renovation of schools infrastructure.
The commissioner, who also supervises the ministry of economic and budget planning, added that the state government invested N1.330 billion in the money market between November 2012 and June last year, and that the investment had already yielded N119 million profit while additional N102.100 million as profit was also being expected by next June.
He however disclosed that the state 7.5 percent public servants’ pension contributions fund had increased to N11.180 billion as of last June, just as the state government secured N50 billion infrastructure development bond programme to execute various projects across the state in 2011.
He said out of the amount N46.6 billion was approved by the state executive council’s and out of which N35. 448.847.501.30 billion had so far been paid.
The commissioner added that N2.5 billion had been approved by the state government to recapitalise Delta Trust Mortgage Finance Limited to provide long-term mortgage financing for Deltans, for sustainable housing development in the state.
He said the state government had released N500 million as counterpart funding with the Bank of Industry for on-ward lending to the small and medium scale enterprises in the state.
By: IDRIS UMAR MOMOH
