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In tracking a state budget, a basic knowledge of the term budget paves way for a better understanding. A budget is an estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time. It is an estimation of revenue and expenses over a specified period of time and is usually compiled, reevaluated on a periodic basis. It is a proposed financial plan for a fiscal year. A budget shows what the government expects to collect as revenue, what grants it expects to receive, how much it expects to save or borrow, and what the government plans to spend on. A budget is a document that contains details about how the government plans to spend our communal wealth – the taxpayers’ money. Federal, State and Local Governments all have a budget document which is called an Appropriation Act. In a democracy, every responsible citizen has the right to know how communal wealth is being expended in the delivery of public infrastructure and services. In understanding this budget analysis, it is important to note the following terms. • Revenue :The total amount of income generated through services provided. • Expenses : This is the cost of operation incurred. • Recurrent Expenditure : This is expenditure that does not result in the creation or acquisition of fixed assets(long term tangible assets). It consist mainly of expenditures in wages, salaries, supplements, purchases of good, services and consumption of fixed capital. • Capital Expenditure: Are funds used by a company to acquire, upgrade and maintain physical assets such as property, plants, buildings, technology or equipment. These funds are used to undertake new projects. • Deficit : the total amount by which money spent is more than Money received. ABIA STATE BUDGET 2019 DATA STATISTICS YEAR State Budget NI40.2bn 2019 Capital expenditure N71,430,020,000 2019 Population 4.5 million 2019 GDP $:18.7b 2007 GDP Per Capita $:3,003 2007 Literacy 85.1 % 2010 Unemployment 31.6 % 2018 Poverty rate 30.7% 2019 IGR Declined from ₦14.83 billion in 2018 to ₦14.77 billion in 2019 2019 Ease of doing business 5th 2018 Health 1,496 healthcare facilities 1,245 public 236 private 15 faith-based 2020 Roads 69-road and bridges projects manufacturing 2% of the GDP Crude oil and gas 39% of the State's GDP BREAKDOWN OF ABIA STATES 2019 BUDGET The Sum of N=I 40,207,371,290 only for the Services of the Government of Abia State o f Nigeria for the year ending 31st Day of December, 2019 . Issue of N 68,777,351,290 Appropriation of {468,777,351,290 Transfer from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to Capital Development Fund of 5425,026,150,390 Expenditure of N71,430,020,000 Appropriation of N 71,430,020,000 Opening Balance of N 3,389,649,106 • The Ministry of Works had a capital expenditure of about N20.2 bn • The Ministry of Education had a capital expenditure of about N5.2bn • Ministry of Health had a capital expenditure of N2.21 bn. APPROVED BUDGET ESTIMATES AND TOP CAPITAL PROJECTS FOR 2019 TOP PROJECTS AMOUNT ALLOCATED Roads N18.3bn Education N5.2bn Improvement to Health N5.3bn Total = N32bn INFRASTRUCTURE The Ministry of Works had a capital expenditure of about N20.2 bn yet most Road project remains partly done with of the sections partly motorable while a larger part remains untouched. There is little to no indication of ongoing works, nor signals that constructions may likely start anytime soon. (no definite time of completion) These roads remain Bad, not passable and untouched, creating havoc for users. The projects that are currently ongoing were the ones which were awarded newly, most of the projects under investigation were awarded by previous administration only a few were awarded by the current government. On the performance of respective projects, some contractors have achieved about 20 percent. The question is will they be able to complete on their contracts specified period? HEALTH In September 2019, Abia state officially launched the state’s health insurance scheme aimed at providing quality, accessible and affordable healthcare for 200,000 residents. With the Launch of the Abia State Health Insurance Agency and NGN 512 million mobilized through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund to the State Primary Health Care Development Agency. There are 1,496 healthcare facilities (1,245 public, 236 private, and 15 faith-based). Among these are 687 public primary health facilities, 236 private health facilities, and 33 hospitals. The Abia State government and LGA governments within the state spend little on health relative to households. Direct out-of-pocket payments by households make up 75 percent of total national health spending, while only 13 percent comes from federal, state, and local government. Yet citizens experience irregular water supply, sanitation and hygiene conditions in most households in the rural areas, certain facilities which are essential to prevent the spread of infectious are lacking. Also health care facilities are not functioning. This makes the residents unable to access health care services. The low levels of coverage of these basic services in the rural areas suggest the extent of vulnerability of these populations. Health indicators in Abia are quite poor, birth delivery indicators are as follows; • Under-five mortality rate, deaths per 1,000 live births stands at 86% • Modern contraceptive prevalence rate among women aged 15–49 stands at 13% • The State health spending as a share of the state health budget (health budget performance) is quite poor. • Capital health budget performance (capital expenditures on health as a share of the capital health budget) is particularly weak. EDUCATION Though 5.2bn was budgeted for education. In Abia, schools are in terrible condition, it is very obvious that the Education Sector in Abia State needs a total reform. Over the years, the Ministry has not lived up to expectations in their responsibility. The system of education in Abia is poor and requires drastic improvement. Studies have shown that the literacy rate in Abia state is very low and learning facilities are in adequate, which means a vast majority of citizens have little access to education. In summary , with a total budget of 140.2bn, a population of 4.5million, states revenue of 66.81bn and total expenditure of 113.77bn, the total revenue was exceeded by 360million Naira with nothing but a deficit left to finance Capital Expenditure. Despite the Capital Expenditure of 13.5bn on environmental improvement, struggles with environmental management continues. This shows that there is so much to be done when it comes to holding our government accountable for mismanagement and misappropriation of funds. The government sometimes delay in payments and even down payments are incomplete. Certificates are issued based on influences of bribe or the “who you know” factor. It is our rights as citizens to demand accountability from our leaders either at the federal, State or local level on how funds were spent. You can as well make use of the Freedom of Information Act to seek information on how these funds are used. If you can’t do it on your own the FOIA has been made available by the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy(AFRICMIL) on the partners united platform. Just visit www.partnersunited.org to get started.