Open Budget: Kaduna seeks citizens' input in 2020 Budget

Following sustained campaign by concerned citizens and critical stakeholders in Kaduna state to open up the budget cycle, the Governor el-Rufa'i-led administration, during the week, engaged the representatives of the academia, community-based organizations, the civil society, women groups and individuals on state's 2020 to 2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework(MTEF) to make next year's budget budget realistic and realizable.

The event tagged 'Citizens Consultations on 2020-2022 MTEF' which was put together by the state's Planning and Budget Commission with the support of DFID-funded Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL), took a critical look at strategies to forge a people-centered budget with emphasis on transparency, openness and accountability.

Co-chair of the Open Government Partnership(OGP) in the state, Alhaji Mustapha Jumare told participants that as a sub national, Kaduna state was indeed a trail brazer in nation's quest to maintain, strengthen and sustain participatory democracy for the overall benefit and development of not only the urban poor but it would also go a long way in encouraging the ordinary man and woman in the hinterland to be part and parcel of the state's governance process.

"It's in deed commendable that the Kaduna state government is doing the needful by involving the people in the formulation, planning and implementation of its budgets, a development that is fast making Kaduna people take the government much more seriously, especially in the area of infrastructure development", Jumare remarked, recalling that the people were also carried along during the planning and formulation of the 2019 budget.

The state's Planning and Budget Commissioner, expressed satisfaction with journey so far, maintaining that the state would leave no stone unturned in its resolve to continue to consult and engage the people in accordance with the spirit and letters of open budgeting as stipulated by the Fiscal Responsibility Law.

The commission's Deputy Director of Budget, Linda Yakubu who stood in for the commissioner, reiterated that the event was packaged to essentially get the input of the people in the 2020 budget formulation process as a priority of the state government.

She explained: "The Commission is doing all it can to ensure that the people take ownership of the budget and fully support its implementation for the general good of the state. It is targeted at sustaining and strengthening citizens' engagement in governance".

Mr Timothy Effiong, a Public Financial Management Consultant, who among other things, reviewed micro and macro economic variables in the scheme of things, during the engagement, described MTEF as a public financial management tool used to facilitate effective allocation and utilization of available resources to achieve identified and agreed policies and priorities of government.

Highlight of the event took participants to task when they were broken into groups for their contributions and input into the 2020 budget formulation, with special emphasis on Internally Generated Revenue(IGR), grants, loans, levies and expenditures. Others are capital receipts, VAT and factors that enhance the budget process, monitoring and realistic budgeting.

Comments

Jema'a Council boss seeks support of civil society on OGP

I n his bid to institutionalize the ongoing local government reforms in Kaduna state especially the principles of Open Government Partnership (OGP), the Chairman of Jema'a Local Government Council has solicited support of civil society in promoting transparency, accountability and improve service delivery that would impact positively on the lives of the people in his local government. Council Chairman, Hon Danjuma Peter Averik, who made this known when he paid a courtesy visit to officials of Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn(PERL/DFID) in their Kaduna office, said his visit became necessary to solicit for partnership against the backdrop of his passionate desire to engender transparency and accountability in his administration. "I am here to seek for collaboration that can help in institutionalizing key local government reforms especially the OGP and Local Government Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (LFTAS) program towards improvin...

Kaduna Citizens embrace Open Government

Participants listening keenly during the engagement T ransparent and citizen-based democracy have been identified as a vital catalyst to good governance in Nigeria. Dropping the hint while speaking at a one day capacity building programme for Open Government Partnership(OGP) Kaduna, State Team Leader, Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn(PERL-ECP), Mr Abel Adejo, disclosed that OGP is operating in no fewer than 75 countries in the world. " Kaduna is the only state in Nigeria operating OGP; the one of the very few sub-nationals in Africa. In Africa Nigeria and Kaduna state were second to be registered in Africa", Adejo volunteered, tracing the origin of OGP in Africa to 2014 when Kenya and Tanzania keyed into the programme. While stressing that "transparency and accountability" remain the watchwords of open government partnership, Adejo informed that the initiative was not an abstract thing but essentially designed to benefit the people. Also spe...

Kaduna CSOs move to track 2020 Budget implementation

A n elaborate template for budget tracking and monitoring of the 2020 budget - with special emphasis on procurement status, level of compliance, budget source documents and payments - have been put in place to identify bureaucratic bottlenecks, militating against optimum budget implementation in Kaduna state. This renewed impetus of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), was a fallout of a 2-day partners budget reflection meeting for all stakeholders working around budget in the state - put together by Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn in collaboration with UK aid - touched on trend analysis of budget in key service delivery sectors of Health, Education and Infrastructure, between 2016 and 2020 as well as a comprehensive review of citizens' engagements around 2020 budget development process with a view of making 2021 more effective and result oriented. Dr Elisha Auta Menson, who is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics of the Kaduna State Univer...

2023: Key stakeholders harp on issues-based campaign in Kaduna

From (L) Hayatudeen Makarfi (PRP), Jonathan Asake (LP), John Ayuba (PDP) & Andrew Duya (APGA) A s the kick-off of electioneering and political activities draw near, members of the electorate and civil society organizations, in collaboration with political observers have emphasized the need for issues-based campaign towards the forthcoming 2023 general elections. The stakeholders made this known at an agenda-setting dialogue with governorship candidates in the state, organized by Partnership for issues-based Campaign in Nigeria (PICAN) supported by Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL/FCDO) in conjunction with Legal Awareness for Nigerian Women (LANW We-You Pro). NATIONAL ACCORD reports that the 2023 gubernatorial election in Kaduna state would be critical as citizens through various accountability mechanisms during the week engaged the candidates of four political parties on issues which touch on insecurity, healthcare, poverty alleviation, education, social protectio...

Coalition urges COP-27 to fast track advocacy against Climate Change

Participants in a group photograph after the event in Kaduna By EDDY OCHIGBO, A coalition of environmental organizations in Kaduna, under the aegis Extinction Rebellion (XR) - a global movement which seeks to persuade governments to act justly on climate change and ecological emergency - has hosted a pre-COP27, in partnership with Bridge-that-Gap Initiative, to galvanize the campaign against climate change, as the the 27th Conference of Parties slated for Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt kicks off. In an exclusive interview with NATIONAL ACCORD, one the coordinators of the event in Kaduna metropolis, Mr Zinta Akpoko, revealed that COP27, Egypt could become a turning point of the campaign, given that forerunners of the conference have since pledged to relentlessly push to prioritize climate financing for developing nations. "The effect of climate change is very evident and we need to be very frank by telling the truth about the inherent dangers tha...

Cubinks NEWS

Search This Blog