Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Government Capital Expenditure towards Construction and Maintenance of Educational Facilities in Enugu State, Nigeria.
- March 9, 2022
- Posted by: rsispostadmin
- Categories: Education, IJRISS, Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue II, February 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186
Okenwa V. Ebuka1, Ajaelu H. Chidiebere2 and Alinta-Abel U. Vanessa3
1&2Department of Quantity Surveying, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu State, Nigeria.
3Department of Quantity Surveying, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria.
Abstract-
OVID- 19 pandemic popularly called corona virus is a killer virus which started in China and spread throughout Europe, America, Africa and Nigeria is not left out. During these period activities in the construction industry was were affected as a result of lockdowns and restrictions of movement imposed by government of the country which Enugu State is also included. The COVID-19 situation in Enugu State has had a far- reaching effects on the economy of the State and this affected the budget allocation for the construction and maintenance of educational facilities in Enugu State as huge capital are channeled to health sector in order to curb the spread of the virus. The objective of this study is to examine, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic to budget and expenditure of government on educational facilities in Enugu state and to determine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic in construction and maintenance of educational facilities in Enugu state. The respondents of this study are randomly chosen from the sample and are registered contractors in Enugu State. This study is carried out through questionnaire and all data were analyzed. The result concluded that there is correlation between the estimated budget for the construction and maintenance of educational facilities in Enugu State during COVID-19 pandemic. The recommendation is that proper planning and budgeting should be done in education sector as regards to construction and maintenance of educational facilities irrespective of the pandemic. Quantity surveyors should also be employed from design stage to finishing for advice, monitoring and control of the construction and maintenance of those educational facilities.
Keywords- Covid-19, Pandemic, Capital expenditure, Educational facilities, Construction and Maintenance
I. INTRODUCTION
COVID-19 pandemic popularly called corona virus is a killer virus, which started in China and spread throughout Europe, America, Africa and Nigeria is not left out. The corona virus entered Nigeria through an infected Italian citizen who came in contact with a Nigerian citizen who was subsequently infected with the corona virus. The corona virus infected people in Lagos and then spread to other parts of the country from March to May. During these periods activities in the construction industry was affected as a result of lockdowns and restrictions of movement imposed by different government of the country which Nigeria is also included. Enugu on April 1, 2020, imposed an initial 14-days lockdown on the state to contain COVID-19 and later extended it by another 14 days on April 15. The COVID-19 situations in Enugu State has had far- reaching effects on the economy of State. It affected the travel business, national health care systems, the food industry, events industry, education and global trade.
Before the pandemic, the Nigerian government had been grappling with weak recovery from the 2014 oil price shock, with GDP growth tapering around 2.3 percent in 2019. Efforts were already being made to bolster aggregate demand through increased government spending and tax cuts for businesses. The public budget increased from 8.83 trillion naira ($24.53 billion) in 2019 to 10.59 trillion naira ($29.42 billion) in 2020, representing 11 percent of the national GDP, while small businesses have been exempted from company income tax, and the tax rate for medium-sized businesses has been revised downwards from 30 to 20 percent. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis is causing all components of aggregate demand, except for government purchases, to fall [1].
