15th October, 2020
The Speaker, Kaduna State House of Assembly, Alhaji Yusuf Zailani, has assured that all issues raised and inputs made during the virtual public hearing of the state 2021 Appropriation Bill, would be considered by the lawmakers.
Zailani gave the assurance while declaring open the virtual public hearing, in Kaduna on Thursday.
He said that the public hearing was to get the inputs of the people for consideration during the Assembly’s deliberation on the budget.
The Speaker urged civil society organisations to feel free and offer their complaints and observations, to ensure that the final budget meets the expectations of the people.
In his contribution, Alhaji Mustapha Jummare of Open Government Partnership, an NGO, raised issues on the allocation made in the budget of the state Health Management Agency.
He noted that the low allocation will affect the provision of drugs in public hospitals and urged the assembly to do the needful.
He also said the budget for nutrition should be increased, as “about 50 percent of children under 5 years are dying of malnutrition in the state, and the budget of N188 million is not sufficient.”
In his submission, Garba Danjuma, a development partner, raised concern on issues of infrastructure development in rural areas, especially provision of rural feeder roads, which are very important to farmers and in time of emergencies.
Danjuma also stressed the need for improved community engagements most especially on developmental projects in their localities.
Another civil society group also raised concern on allocation for the agriculture sector, saying that the monetary allocation in the sector is insufficient.
They also stressed the need to bring back mechanised farming, and render more support to farmers in tems of provision of fertilizer, seeds and storage facilities.
Ahmed Tijjani, another partner, who spoke on the educational sector, commended the government for the allocation of 25 per cent of the state budget to education.
He however observed that people with disabilities were not included in the budget line.
The Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed, assured that all presentations and observation raised would be taken into consideration by the committee.