Bauchi State to spend N12bn to build 2,500 houses in 2020 – Official

Thu, Dec 12, 2019
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Politics

BAUCHI State Government said on Wednesday, that it would spend N12 billion to build 2,500 houses in 2020.

The Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Umar Adamu, said this in Bauchi while giving a breakdown of the 2020 budget.

Adamu said that the funds for the construction of the houses would be accessed from the Family Support funds.

He said that the houses would be developed in six local government areas in the state.

“The fund would be accessed in instalments while the state government can award the contracts after accessing 12 per cent of the contract sum in line with the procurement Act.

“The moment we start accessing the loan, the bank will give us 50 per cent of the total sum required.

“The projects would be executed through direct labour with the supervision of the state government and officials of the Family Support Fund.”

He said that most of the previous housing schemes in the state were abandoned as they were handled by private developers.

” Most of such houses were located at the outskirts of the towns and cities while the developers were eager to sell off the property at high profit margin.

“In the present dispensation, the houses will be located closed to the towns and we want to assure the people that they would be completed.”

Commenting on the 2010 Budget, the commissioner for Budget and Planning, Dr Aminu Gamawa, said that it was a complete departure from the usual system of budgeting that gave preference to recurrent expenditures.

Gamawa said that the state government had increased capital expenditures to N94.6 billion while recurrent expenditures was allocated N72.61 billion.

He explained that the development followed the determination of the present administration to develop the state to compete with its neighbours.

Gamawa said that it was also aimed at cutting down the excesses in payment of salaries, allowances, pensions and gratuities, following the recent verification to determine the exact number of civil servants in the state.

The commissioner said over N8b had been set aside for salaries, allowances, pensions and gratuities and N800m for  payment of allowances of political officials.

“The former government awarded a lot of contracts especially road projects, we will carefully review them, reach an agreement with the contractors and execute them.

“In the same vein, direct labour option will also be exploited to give our professionals opportunity to practice their discipline and improve their capacity and cut cost and give value for our money,” he asserted. (NAN)

– Dec. 12, 2019 @ 9:05 GMT |

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