Babatunde Fashola, governor of Lagos State, is not willing to be distracted from his vision of turning Lagos into a functional world-class mega city. This desire came into the fore with his signing into law the state budget scaled down by 10 per cent by the Lagos State House of Assembly. Some observers expected the governor to engage the lawmakers in a long-drawn battle over the budget as was the case with President Umaru Yar’Adua and the National Assembly over the 2009 budget, but Fashola opted to sign the budget into law to keep the wheel of development rolling in the state.

Overlooking the politics behind the slashing of the budget as he signed it, he stated that the budget was the facilitator of government’s commitment which helps to deliver on the yearnings of the people, bringing meaning and content to democracy. “This is a law that enables us to  create more jobs, it is a law that enables us keep businesses alive; it is a law that enables us to secure the state; it is a law that enables us provide water supply and  to keep transportation running,” Fashola said.

After having delayed the passage of the budget which was presented by the governor on November 17 last year for about three months, while all the political intimidation and power-play went on between Fashola, Bola Tinubu, his predecessor and the House of Assembly, the legislature eventually passed the budget on February 25 but after having cut it down from N429,596 billion presented to it to N389,571 billion.

The lawmakers after being restrained by the court to stay action on the proposed probe of the governor over the trumped-up allegations

of corruption levelled against him by some faceless groups, came around to working on the 2010 budget slashing every aspect from the recurrent to capital expenditure.

In the original budget presented by the governor, capital expenditure estimate was N250.778 billion; recurrent expenditure was estimated at N178. 818 billion, total personnel cost was put at N55.097 billion and total overhead cost at N123.739 billion. In the budget passed by the House the sum of N224.196 billion was allocated for capital expenditure, N165.375 billion for recurrent expenditure and N120.296 billion for total overhead costs.

The downward review of the personnel cost by the Legislature was commended as it was seen as being necessary to maintain a lean public sector. According to an economist, it is ideal for government to spend less on personnel. It is imperative for government to streamline its activities by rationalising staff. Government should provide enabling environment for the private sector to thrive to improve economic activities and hence boost employment,” he opined.

A blanket downward review amounting to 10 per cent of the budget was, however, considered not good enough and not healthy for the state’s economy. Rather than reduce the entire budget, the House was expected to cut down on the overhead as they have done and then jerk up the capital expenditure because this is developmental.

Considering the fact that in the history of budget presentation and passage in the state there has not been a record of budget slashing, it is now believed that the latest development has some political undertone. Even when things were not working in the state

the state, when the roads were in a bad condition, the transportation infrastructure was nothing to write home about, the sanitation situation was poor and the hospitals were in bad shape and nothing was working, the budget was not reduced. Throughout the eight years of former Governor Tinubu, the budget was not reduced by the House. The question now being asked is, why is it that with the state machinery functioning effectively, the House has chosen to slash budgets? This development is perceived as unhealthy for the growth and development of the state.

For the fact that the budget was meant to be used for the completion and consolidation of ongoing projects, it is generally believed that slashing it downwards is a ploy to starve the administration of funds. A cut in the capital expenditure will no doubt affect the projects and constrain the economy of the state.

The governor was commended for not having made an issue out of the slash. Ordinarily, according to a public analyst, the action of the House would have heightened the frosty relationship between the executive and the legislature, especially in view of the fact that it had never happened before and it is now coming up in the wake of the alleged face-off between the two arms of government.

A source who declined to be mentioned said Fashola may be seen to be young politically, but with the way he handled the budget issue, he has exhibited political maturity. “He saw it as the decision of the party and by signing it into law; he has tried to prove a point that in spite of the limited resources at his disposal, he could still deliver the dividend of democracy to the people of Lagos. The j

job has to be done and this would not stop the governor from delivering on the promises he made to the people of Lagos, and neither would it stop him from implementing the salary increase and allowances he announced for the various cadre of public servants in the state who he sees as the brain behind his success story so far,” said the source.

Giving reasons for the slashing of the budget, Kolapo Osunsanya, chairman, House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, noted that the committee that scrutinised the budget presented by the governor found out that there was a disparity between  the yearly approved personnel cost and the actual. “The committee observed that there is reduction in the overhead expenditure of the state from N80.376 billion in year 2009 to N67.002 billion for year 2010. The actual as at September 2009 was N39.188 billion while the actual for the year ending 2009 would be N52.251 billion,” he explained adding that the committee thought it wise to reduce the N67.002 proposed by the governor for the fiscal year 2010.

Another reason  given by Osunsanya for the reduction was that there was gross underfunding of the  House of Assembly  and that the executive arm failed to take into consideration all recommendations made by the House during Town Hall meetings held across the 40 constituencies in the state and forwarded to the  state government.

As always, Fashola has proved that he is in a class of his own and would not want to be distracted by primordial sentiments and intra- party squabbles. Certainly, Lagosians and non-Lagosians alike are convinced that he is a man on a mission.

 

Fashola: <

Undaunted

Osunsanya: Justifies the reduction of the budget