Cross River State has performed credibly well in the annual ranking of states’ fiscal performance, improving from 14th position in 2020 to 8th position in 2021 and to the 4th position nationally in 2022.
A statement by the Cross River State Ministry of Finance explained that the unprecedented rise was driven by the State Ministry of Finance and cluster agencies and departments, under the leadership of Mr. Asuquo Ekpenyong as the former Commissioner for Finance.
It said: “The finance cluster were able to achieve significant improvement on fiscal performance indices year-on-year for the State, by focusing on improved accountability & transparency; increased public revenue; rationalised public expenditure; improved public financial management and sustainable debt management.
The Information officer, Cross River State Ministry of Finance, Florence Kekong disclosed that the state also improved on its financial reporting and transparency.
According to Florence, “the Ministry of Finance and its cluster departments and agencies ensured that quarterly budget implementation reports were made available to enable citizens to track how well the state was financing all its budgetary commitments.
“The State also increased prioritization of capital expenditure over its operating expenses, and the ability of the state to fund their operating expenses and loan repayments seamlessly within the fiscal year.”.