Kano Govt holds retreat on Medium Term Economic Framework 2019-2021
Kano State Government said on Friday it has commenced preparations to articulate a Medium Term Economic Framework for 2019 to 2021 that would guide the state annual budget in the next three years.
The State Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Aisha Yusuf said in Kaduna at a two-day retreat for stakeholders that the objective is to ensure effectiveness and good connection between policy, planning and budgeting.
She said that the retreat, organised in partnership with DFID, was to address issues in the process of 2019 budget preparation and help stakeholders understand the budget process.
Yusuf added that the participants would share experiences with regards to challenges encountered in the course of implementing the 2018 budget and agree on strategies to overcome the challenges before the presentation of the 2019 budget.
The commissioner said that the main challenges of getting a standard “budget of reality” include inadequate capacity, increased demand for budgetary allocation by MDAs and harmonisation of the state Information Management System, among others.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that participants at the retreat include government officials, members of the state legislature, traditional leaders, civil society organizations, women groups among others.
The Speaker, Kano State House of Assembly, Kabir Rurum, told newsmen on the sideline of the event that the interaction would deepen the quality of the 2019 budget especially in the area of capital projects.
According to him, a lot of developmental issues were highlighted at the session and expressed the hope that all issues raised would be captured and implemented.
The speaker defended lawmakers tinkering with budgets, saying there was nothing like padding the budget in their actions, but were rather performing their constitutional responsibilities reducing or adding to a budget proposal where necessary.
“It is also our duty to check and see if the budget actually cover the most important areas of human development to ensure that every aspect were well captured,” Mr Rurum said.
NAN
