I read in The PUNCH newspaper of Thursday, August 13, 2015 (Page 13), the financial statement published by the Kwara State Government.

It is a thing of interest to observe the level of transparency being displayed by the state government in disclosing to Kwarans how the resources entrusted in its hands were managed/ utilised.

However, a quick review of the report indicated that much is still required to be done to demonstrate accountability, fairness, and transparency. I observed that notes to the accounts are indicated against each of the major balances but these notes are not part of the publication.

The essence of the notes is not clear. These notes would have boosted the level of transparency displayed but they have created a loophole for criticism.

I could see a line for spending on regional development (capital expenditure for rural development).

Nothing was spent on this line both in 2013 and 2014. This is the area to demonstrate fairness in spending but nothing. It implies that all spending are concentrated at the state capital. A government of the people should always consider the masses in her economic development activities. The major occupation of Kwara State indigenes is agriculture which means the majority reside in the rural areas. If these people are not catered for then who are we serving? Not only this, the concentration of development activities at the state capital implies rural-urban migration which a struggling government cannot manage.

It is surprising that total income generated from sales/rent on land and others is N7,920,616.52 for 2014 and nothing in 2013. It appears there may be mistakes somewhere. A long outstanding state like that should do more.

Also, there are capital spending in the cash flow statement but no capital spending was indicated under total payments for each of the years. It would have been more informative and transparent to have the list of capital projects executed in the year and how much each of them cost the government.

It is also significant that there are no details or notes for intangible assets of N23.178bn. This is a significant amount to the assets base of the state.

Going forward, the government should try and publish the financial statements within six months after the end of the year. It should give regional breakdown of revenue collected in the year and should also borrow ideas from some states that engage in rural development to boost development across the state.

This can be done by selecting some upcoming cities in the state, give them improved road network and other basic amenities. This will reduce the pressure on amenities in Ilorin.

The state government should make her spending people-oriented by creating and maintaining roads to the villages.

Olasunkanmi T. Adeoti,

Abuja,

otadeoti@gmail.com