The Kaduna State Government, on Saturday said it plans to spend N201.049bn in the 2018 fiscal year, with capital expenditure gulping N125.5bn or 62.42%; with the remaining N75.548bn or 37.58% earmarked for recurrent spending.
Addressing stakeholders at a town hall meeting on the 2018 budget, Governor Nasir el-Rufia said the pally was part of ensuring citizens’ participation and input in the budget now being drafted which it commenced in 2015 for the drafting of the following year’s budget.
Noting that the meetings have never been designed as mere talk-shops, he said contributions at the 2015 edition changed the budget side with new projects proposed and inserted.
He recalled that the 2017 draft budget estimates was equally subjected to a debate at a town hall meeting on October 8, 2016, adding that the 2018 budget proposal is based on the priorities outlined in the Restoration Programme as contained in the Kaduna State specific All Progressives Congress (APC), manifesto.
He listed these priorities as: “Education, health, social welfare, security, infrastructure and jobs, good governance and agriculture, which have been prioritized in the two previous budgets.
As a reward, he said by September 2016, Kaduna State had nearly doubled primary school enrolment from 1.1 to 2.1 million, and that in 2017, 35% of the state’s capital budget was allocated to education, “because much remains to be done to revamp this vehicle for human capital development.
“We had campaigned against the dilapidated conditions of our schools, and they became our problem to solve after we won the election. We are dealing with inherited legacy of over 50% of school pupils having to sit on floors because of the absence of furniture in schools that often lack doors, roofs, windows, water and sanitation facilities.
“We have supplied about 186,000 items of furniture in two years, rehabilitated over 400 primary schools and we are now aggressively renovating our secondary schools.”
In 2016, he recalled that the state recorded a milestone with the highest ever annual capital expenditure at N62bn, while internally generated revenue (IGR) reached an all-time peak of N23bn.
“We hope to build on these achievements to reduce our dependence on monthly Federation account allocations.
“Our purpose in government is the pursuit of social justice- to promote equality of opportunity to give every mother and child the prospect of surviving pregnancy and infancy with sound health, to absorb decent education and develop the skills to make the best of life. It is to secure for our young people employment opportunities in a vibrant economy. It is about giving everyone a fair chance in the race of life.
“It is about being for the people and seeking to empower them, not creating dependency and exploiting their poverty.
In his presentation, Muh’d Sani Dattijo, the state’s Budget Commissioner said the meeting was also part of ensuring transparency, fight corruption in the budget process, while empowering citizens.