KOTA KINABALU – The Sabah government’s consolidated fund registered an increase of RM484.80 million or 16.5% to RM3.431 billion in 2021 from RM2.947 billion in 2020, according to a report tabled in the Sabah assembly today.
The auditor-general’s report on the financial statements of the Sabah government and agencies for 2021 stated that the consolidated revenue account registered a surplus of RM931.57 million, increasing by RM1.866 billion or 199.7%, compared with a deficit of RM934.63 million in 2020.
“The financial position of the Sabah government for the year ended December 31, 2021 is stable on the whole,” the report said.
The report said that in 2021, revenue collected by the state government totalled RM5.450 billion, an increase of RM1.859 billion or 51.8% from 2020’s collection of RM3.591 billion.
It said operating expenditure rose RM57.44 million or 1.6% to RM3.718 billion in 2021, compared with RM3.661 billion in 2020.
“Last year, RM1.119 billion in development expenditure was approved and RM879.92 million was spent,” the report said.
According to the report, 812 projects were planned for 2021, 47 projects were completed, 367 projects are being implemented, and 398 projects have yet to be implemented.
Meanwhile, the 2021 Series 1 report on activities of ministries/departments and management of Sabah government companies said the state government had disbursed aid totalling RM179.07 million for the benefit of 392,819 heads of households and 10 departments through the Sabah We Care Bantuan Covid-19 programme.
“RM159.12 million was distributed for the benefit of 372,813 heads of households and departments throughout the critical period between the movement control order until the conditional MCO,” the report said.
It also said the management of repairs to slopes along state and federal roads in Sabah was not efficient and effective enough to achieve the objectives of slope management.
Between 2018 and 2020, a total of 65 to 85.3% of targeted slopes had yet to be repaired, and one of the reasons for this was that allocations approved for the projects were insufficient.
“Physical inspections conducted at project sites showed that physical damage was caused by a lack of routine maintenance after the projects were completed. This affected the stability and strength of roadside slopes. The early warning system installed at the locations of slopes also need to be better utilised,” it said. – Bernama, November 28, 2022
