In continuation of its consultative meetings with relevant stakeholders on preparation of 2019-2021 Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEF) and 2019 budget, the Ondo State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget has met with the representatives of Organized Private Sectors, Trade Associations and Professional Bodies in the State.

The Commissioner for the Ministry, Pastor Emmanuel Igbasan, while addressing representatives of the groups at the meeting held at the conference hall of the ministry in Akure said the meeting was to open up the anticipated inflow and outflow of the state resources to relevant stakeholders in order to engender allocation of resources for optimum benefit of the citizens of the State.

According to statement from Media Manager of the ministry, Banjo Egunjobi, Igbasan noted that since the present government signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act into law in 2017, there was a radical departure from incremental budgeting system to the multi-year budgeting framework.

The Commissioner said that the Akeredolu-led administration has realized that budget is not what government intend to do for the people but rather what the people want government to do for them.

According to him, “today’s programme has been designed to seek your inputs and opinion on the fiscal policy of the State in our bid to ensure a prosperous Ondo State.”

Pastor Igbasan said the government intentionally want to harness their inputs into budget preparation to see the critical areas they want government to intervene as professionals and also assist government to enlighten the public on how government generate it’s revenue and allocate it’s resources.

He appreciated the State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN for his open and transparent system of administration which he said afforded the people to contribute and criticise government activities.

In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Bunmi Alade, said that in order to have a robust and realistic budget, there is the need for every stakeholder to know how figures are being compiled in crafting the budget.

While presenting the 2019-2021 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2019 Budget projections, the Director of Budget, Mr. Stephen Aworere, stated that MTEF is a three-year planning tool used in the estimation of aggregate resource envelope available to government and the allocation of those resources to meet government socio-economic development objectives and priorities.

He stated that the rationale behind the adoption of MTEF included the estimation of resource envelope on an objective and predictable basis such that budget managers would be empowered to plan and execute budget with greater confidence, thereby delivering services more efficiently and effectively.

He emphasized the need for an increase in the Internally Generated Revenue for the State in order to meet critical needs of the people.

At the meeting, different professional bodies   gave useful contributions on how to increase the Internally Generated revenue of the state to finance the budget as well as the expectations of the people from government in terms of needed interventions in the society.

They emphasized the need for government to make agriculture more attractive to the youths, women empowerment, and value addition to agriculture produce, independent power generation among others.