Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has appealed for additional funding for his ministry.
The former governor of Ebonyi State is suggesting a rise in the budget allocation for 2024, from N657.22 billion to N1.5 trillion.
Umahi made this request while defending the 2024 Budget estimate for the Ministry of Works before the National Assembly Joint Committees on Appropriation.
He stressed that this increase will allow for the construction of at least ten vital roads and bridges in each of the country’s six geopolitical zones.
He also requested an Emergency Fund of around 30% of the Budget Provision to “cater for unforeseen emergencies that regularly occur on the road network, especially during the rainy season.”
Additionally, the minister called for a “urgent review of all certified debts to contractors and, if possible, convert the same to Promissory Notes to contractors so that we can get properly focused on using any fund appropriated to us to pursue the Ministry’s set objectives.”
Speaking on inflation, the Minister emphasized that “many contractors are presently out of sites because they have exhausted their contract VoPs and needed the projects’ unit rates to be reviewed.
“It will be good that all VoPs and augmentations of all the projects are reviewed, and those that are owed be converted to Promissory Notes, while the unit rates regime will take effect on contractors in line with the current realities of the construction industry,” he added.
The Minister advocated for “more eligible companies to be encouraged to key into the Road Tax Credit Scheme to increase the number of private sector interventions. This means front-loading their tax liabilities to solve our present challenges.”
