To check flooding, the Kwara Government has embarked on desilting of drains to ensure free flow of water in Ilorin metropolis.

Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara said this on Monday during an interactive session with journalists in the state.

Ahmed said government was determined to ensure free flow of water due to the challenges posed by climate change in some parts of the country.

The governor said his administration had instituted a policy of constructing drains on every new road contract awarded.

He said that the government had committed a lot of funds on de-silting and expansion of drains, channelisation of river course and mopping up of streams and rivers.

The governor, however, identified lack of maintenance culture in the country for the slow pace of infrastructural development.

"If we had a sound maintenance culture in this country, we wouldn't be celebrating any government for building roads or providing pipe borne water.

"Our level of development would have developed beyond that," he said.

Ahmed described government's resort to borrowing to finance capital intensive projects as strategic and not because the state was broke.

He explained that no banker in the world would extend credit facilities to insolvent states.

"A healthy economy creates capacity to borrow to fast track development as recurrent income lacks capacity to finance such projects," he said.

The governor called for a return to the pre-oil tax regime that facilitated the financing of many infrastructural and developmental projects across the country. (NAN)