Ayade presents 2020 budget with 82% allocated to capital expenditure

Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade has presented the state’s 2020 budget to the state House of Assembly, with a capital expenditure of 82 percent.

The governor presented the N1.1 trillion budeget tagged Budget of Olimpotic Meristemasis on Thursday.

While giving a breakdown of the budget, Ayade explained that N911 billion representing 82% of the estimates will be for capital estimates while N188 billion representing 17.2% will be spent on recurrent expenditure.

New cities projects, health, education and agriculture sectors take the highest votes with N85 billion, N44 billion, N38 billion and N22 billion respectively.

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On taxation, the governor, who said no nation taxes its people to prosperity, explained that daily taxes will be abolished for low-income earners including traders.

He added that civil servants who earn below N100,000 per month.

He said a flat monthly tax will rather be paid by low-income earners while the government will continue to legalise hawking by creating some hawking bases in the state to assist low-income earners.

According to the governor, the tax regime in the state beginning from next year will be softened as a means of boosting the income of low-income earners and high-income earners will be the ones who pay more tax, adding that agro-based industries under construction in the state will come on stream next year and the government hopes to earn about N380 billion from the industries.

He however said said that though the budget looks unachievable, his administration is determined to actualise it.

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