From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
The Kaduna state government yesterday, presented implementation and utilization of the 2023 budget, tagged, “Budget of Continuous Growth and Development” through the Citizens’ Accountability Report (CAR) in its move for accountability and transparency.
Speaking at the Citizens’ Accountability town-hall engagement held at the Ministry of Local Government Affairs, the Permanent Secretary of State Ministry of Finance, Haibib A. Lawal said the Town Hall Meeting is a testament to the dedication of the Kaduna State government in the last few years to open dialogue and active participation from all relevant stakeholders.
He reiterated the administration of Gov Uba Sani’s promises of open partnership with the Citizens of Kaduna State through the release of the annual Citizen Accountability Report which includes all financial dealings of the State.
He further explained that the engagement organized by the ministry aims to give the public feedback on the funds that were appropriated in the year 2023.
“We engaged the general public through a town hall meeting with, what required the budget, we captured and harvested their inputs, they critique, we harvested their inputs and then factored them into the budget and presented to the State House of Assembly. After passage, the Excellency assented to the law, and now we have implemented it, in 2022 and passed, and it is our responsibility to give the public feedback on how we have implemented and utilized it.
“That is why we invited members of the public to come and critique, ask questions, and seek clarity on the implementation and utilization of the budget,” he said
Presenting the CAR for 2023, Saleh Bilyaminu, Planning and Budget Commission said the report includes a review of the Budget outturn, revenue outturn, expenditure outturn, audit findings, audited financial statements, top sectors allocation, top value projects, the implementation status report on citizen nominated projects, and Gender, Equity, and Social Inclusion Projects.
“The originally approved Kaduna State 2023 “Budget of Continuous Growth and Development, “ was assented to by the Governor on the 29th of December 2022 with an approved size of N376.4 billion.”
“The total revenue performance by the State in 2023 was N242.1 billion, indicating a 64% performance of the budget amount, while the actual expenditure was N229.6 billion, representing 61% against the final budget.”
