The All Progressives Congress, APC, Ondo State chapter has berated the state Governor, Olusegun Mimiko for failing to present 2016 budget after almost a month into the year.
The party, through a statement issued by its Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro, said the delay in the presentation of the 2016 Appropriation Bill by the governor might worsen the standard of living of people of the state.
Otaloro said, “We feel strongly that with the delay, the level of corrupt practices in this government might increase owing to the late implementation of capital votes.
“Surely capital projects will suffer and when this happens, the standard of living will fall because capital projects are what impact on the standard of living of the people.
“A lot of plans are dependent on capital releases and if capital budget does not start early, it will affect businesses because most people look at the budget to make informed decisions.”
According to him, besides slowing down the execution of capital projects, investors and businesses, which depended on the fiscal document to make their investment decisions, would have to wait.
“Consequently, the economy of the state suffers in many ways when the budget is not passed on time. The late passage of the budget affects the programmes of government especially in the area of capital implementation because funds for capital votes would be delayed.
“Apart from this, economic activities would be slowed down because investors and businesses that depend on the fiscal document to make investment decisions would have to wait.
“Delay in budget passage also affects the confidence of investors in the economy. as budget is the very lifeblood of public administration,” Otaloro stated.
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