El-Rufai presents 2021 draft budget to Kaduna Assembly today

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, will present the state’s 2021 proposed budget to the House of Assembly today, three days after the document was presented at a town hall meeting for citizens to make inputs.

Before the town hall meeting, the state government had proposed to spend N237 billion – N157.56 billion for capital projects and N79.96 for recurrent expenditure.

The Commissioner for Planning and Budget, Thomas Gyang, noted that the presentation was the sixth annual budget since 2015 to be discussed at a town hall meeting. He added that since 2015, the government had been signing all budgets in the preceding year, thereby aligning the fiscal and calendar years.

The commissioner disclosed that the 2021 budget took into account the economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the uncertainty it has unleashed on the society.

Gyang stated that the budget prioritises capital spending, with capital to recurrent ratio of 66:34.

“The budget supports the abiding commitment to education, health, and infrastructure by devoting most of the capital allocation to the sectors.

According to him, N124 billion (79 per cent of the capital budget) is allocated to the economic and social sectors.

The commissioner reiterated that the government’s focus since 2015 had been governance reforms, education, health, and infrastructure.

He recalled that in June 2019, the governor launched the Urban Renewal Project, the most significant investment ever in urban infrastructure in the state, with the goal of upgrading the three major cities: Kaduna, Kafanchan, and Zaria.

The Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, remarked that the budget reflected the ‘Putting People First’ governance agenda.

“Education and health are the principal components of human capital development, while investment in infrastructure is critical to maintaining our competitiveness, supporting economic dynamism, creating jobs, and promoting the well-being of our people,” she said.