Osun State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Wale Bolorunduro, in this interview with TUNDE ODESOLA, speaks on how the state plans to implement the 2012 budget.
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How realistic is Osun?s 2012 budget in the face of global economic meltdown?
We need to first look at what the budget stands for. The budget is? a budget of growth because it takes into account the needs of the people. Where would the money come from in the face of economic meltdown being felt everywhere? The Rauf Aregbesola administration has evolved ingenious ways to raise funds. One of the ways by which we are growing our economy is blocking all loopholes in revenue generation. We have saved about N40bn? which would be used for overall development of the state. Osun people are predominantly farmers and we are going to improve our economy by? opening up the agric sector. Our estimate is to have 10 per cent of the multi-billion naira cattle, vegetable and fruit supply that is daily consumed in Lagos State. We have entered into an agreement with the Nigeria Railway Corporation for the movement of farm produce from Osun State to Lagos at no cost to farmers. Businessmen and women who want to transport electronics and other wares into Osun can use our rail coaches at no cost. The idea is to make merchandise sell in Osun for the price of Lagos. In this regard, a rail terminus has been sited at Dagbolu near Ikirun, where a hub of commercial activities would be established.?This is the first time in the history of Osun when we are having a zero-based budget. By zero-based budget, we mean that what accrues to your agency or ministry would be based solely on your activities, which you must implement to the letter.? We have upped our monthly internally generated revenue from N320m to N600m monthly now. We are giving a big target to the state internal revenue service. In the budget, we are expecting an IGR of about N13.3bn annually which translates to more than N1bn monthly.
What challenges are the state government facing in driving the economy?
Some of our communities do not have commercial banks. The key element in revenue generation is paying straight to the bank in a transparent way. I cannot say the motor licensing man in Awo, headquarters of Egbedore Local Government Council, is not collecting cash as revenue. We will not unduly tax our citizens. Taxing will be done after empowering our artisans ? low and medium earners. We cannot afford to give the long suffering people of Osun high tax regime. It is an irresponsible government that taxes the people unduly.
One year after the advent of the Aregbesola administration in office, the state has yet to witness massive infrastructural turnaround promised the people.
Last year?s budget was not prepared by the Rauf Aregbesola administration. The ousted government of Olagunsoye Oyinlola did. The effect of this year?s budget, which has just been signed into law by the incumbent governor, will begin to manifest very soon.? The state has been rebranded in order to change the orientation of the people and give them hope. Osun was in a state of hopelessness when God divinely answered the people?s prayers on November 26, 2010 and restored the mandate of Aregbesola through a court verdict. What the state government embarked upon mainly in its first year was to build the intangible sector. The intangible sector is an unseen yet very critical sector. When a people have been devalued, harassed, harangued, oppressed and depressed for seven and a half years, the best way to restore their humanity and dignity is to imbue in them values and ethos of living. This is why the Aregbesola administration embarked on rebranding of the state.
Is the Osun Youths Empowerment Scheme serving its purpose?
Osun remains the first and only state where 20,000 persons were employed in one fell swoop. Our youth employment model is being understudied by the World Bank and some other states of the federation. The salaries earned by the 20,000 youths under the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme will impact positively on Osun economy.
Some of the OYES employees, through their salaries, can now raise capital to do small-scale businesses. How many states can mobilise road projects in the last quarter of last year? But we did. In the next one week, work will begin on many roads. Many of these roads are Federal Government roads but we believe by opening them up, we are empowering our people, farmers and easing the movement of farm products.
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