Posted by By Kazeem Ugbodaga & Adetutu Audu on
Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos state has set a target of N161 billion for the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) in 2009.
Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos state has set a target of N161 billion for the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) in 2009.
The target is by far higher than what other ministries, agencies and parastatals of government are expected to generate for the fiscal year. The information is contained in the approved 2009 budget omnibus summary table, where the revenue agency, which is autonomous, is expected to scout the nooks and crannies of the state to achieve the N161 billion target of the governor.
Following the LIRS is the Lands Bureau Ministry, which is expected to generate N25.3 billion from the sale of land and issuance of title documents, among others.
The governor has also set a target of N4.1 billion for the office of the environmental services, while the Lagos State Physical Planning and Urban Development Authority must bring into government's coffers N3.1 billion, this year.
Ministries, such as Finance, Housing and Physical Planning and Urban Development, are expected to generate N2 billion, N1.2 billion and N1.1 billion respectively, this year.
Also, the State Treasury Office (STO) is to generate N1.8 billion, while the Ministry of Transportation, through its various activities, is expected to bring in N1.1 billion. The Motor Vehicle Administration Agency is expected to generate N2.3 billion from vehicle registration and renewal of vehicle licences.
The Ministries of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Education, Health and Cabinet Office have targets of N169.8 million, N325 million, N189.7 million and N511.3 million respectively.
While Lagos State Judiciary and the Ministry of Justice are to generate N650.4 million and N151 million respectively, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development, Tourism and Inter-governmental Relations and Waterfront and Infrastructure Development are expected to rake in N129 million, N100 million and N358.4 million respectively.
The office of the Surveyor-General, Local Government Establishment and Pension and the Lagos State Infrastructural Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA) are to generate N738 million, N151.7 million and N356 million respectively.
In the area of subvention, the State Universal Education Board will get N1.2 billion; Lagos State Water Corporation, N1 billion; Lagos State University (LASU), N2.95 billion and Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCED), N1.32 billion.
The Lagos State Polytechnic will get a subvention of N1.5 billion; Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), N2.4 billion; Lagos State University College of Medicine, N1.5 billion and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), N600 million.
Meanwhile, governor Fashola has appealed to the striking doctors at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, to remember their Hippocratic oath as any lives lost during the strike action can not be replaced.
'I will not be able to live with my conscience if any patient dies. We can pay back money, give cars, but lives can never be replaced. That is the basis of the Hippocratic oath,' Fashola stated.
The Lagos state helmsman, who spoke at the formal commissioning of the BT Paediatric Complex and BT Health and Diagnostic Centre, at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, yesterday, added that the agitation of the doctors will be looked into, putting into consideration the totality of the welfare package - housing, salaries, offices and equipment to use.
Speaking on the project, governor Fashola commended the efforts of his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and his team for daring to dream and believe that the 10-point agenda of a good health delivery system is achievable.
The vision, which was started in 2005 by the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu administration, is to develop LASUTH and the Lagos State University College of Medicine, LASUCOM, into globally acclaimed centres of excellence in healthcare delivery as well as reputable citadels of medical research and learning at undergraduate and post-graduate levels.
Commending the efforts of the Babatunde Fashola administration on consolidating on past records, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former governor of the state, said, before now, all the buildings in the premises were dilapidated and equipment broken down, but his administration gave LASUTH a face lift.
He praised the present governor and his team for the spirit of making the dream a reality and for achieving the 10-point agenda. According to Tinubu, without a good health delivery system, democracy and sound economy will remain a mirage. Water, good health delivery and good infrastructure are citizens' rights, not favours,' Tinubu emphasised.