This is a Communique issued at the end od a One-Day CSO-Legislative Review Session of Jigawa State 2010 Budget held in Dutse on Wednesday December 22, 2010
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) with support from the Heinrich Boll Foundation organized a one-day Civil Society Organisation-Legislature Review Session on the annual budget of Jigawa State for the year 2010. The session was held at the Three Star Hotel, Dutse, Jigawa State on 22nd December 2010. The meeting had 32 participants in attendance, comprising the representatives from the House of Assembly, CSOs and media representatives. The objectives of the one day meeting included the review and analysis of the Jigawa State budget for 2010 and setting the agenda for the 2011 budget.
During the session two presentations were made on “the Jigawa State Budget 2010: An analysis” and “A CSO View of the Jigawa State Budget 2010”. The session was a continuation of the HBF-sponsored engagement of the legislature and CSO in Jigawa State by CISLAC to deepen democracy and facilitate development in the state. The session, like similar ones scheduled for Benue and Kogi States, was meant to evaluate the capacity of the state’s 2010 budget to deliver development to the mass of the people, identify the gaps it contained and propose projections that will constitute CSO-legislature input into the 2011 budget.
After presentations and robust and serious deliberations, the following observations and recommendation were made by the participants:
Observations:
There is no citizens’ participation in the budget preparation process, making it exclusive and not participatory enough.
There is no substantial input from the civil society organizations during budget processes and implementation of the 2010 budget of Jigawa state.
The state is largely dependent on statutory allocations form the Federal Government and other external sources of revenue for financing the budget resulting in poor budget performance and slow pace of development
The Jigawa state budget for 2010 did not adequately address the issue of Gender and people with special needs in its provisions
Some of the key sectors received same allocations with that of the last year and raising an issue of the source of data
The Jigawa state budget for 2010 made little industrialization in the state to complement most of the government’s skill acquisition programmes, hence the problems of youth unemployment and poverty is not adequately addressed
The budget lacks specific goals, benchmarks and indicators with which its performance can be evaluated and assessed
The State House of Assembly members make very little contact with their constituencies on budget issues and therefore their interests are not adequately translated into budgetary projections.
There was no adequate fiscal discipline in the implementation of the Jigawa State Budget 2010
Recommendations:
After identifying successes and weaknesses of the 2010 budget, participants came up with the following recommendations:
The CSOs and the legislature need to work harmoniously and collaborate on budget issues in the interest of the people
The State House of Assembly should always conduct public hearings on budget to make it more participatory and people oriented
Legislatures should always carry their constituency members along for input to budget to make it more inclusive and people friendly
The government of Jigawa state should devise pragmatic means of prioritizing projects in its budget to avoid repetition of figures for sectors at variance with realities in the state
The government of Jigawa state should set up specific goals and performance indicators to achieve in the 2011 budget
The government of Jigawa states should introduce specific programme to empower women and to address the issue of girl child education in subsequent budgets beginning from 2011
Civil society members in Jigawa state should be proactive in engaging the budget making and implementation processes in Jigawa state by creating awareness and mobilizing citizens’ participation
8. The government of Jigawa state should identify and exploit other sources of income, especially internally generated revenue for developmental programmes
9. The government of Jigawa state should make information on the budget available to all stakeholders at every stage of the process
Conclusion:
Participants thanked CISLAC and the HBF for to the organizing for the programme and expressed optimism for a more people oriented 2011 budget for the state.
Signed:
Auwal Musa Rafsanjani
Executive Director, CISLAC
Babangida Usman
Public Relations Officer, Jigawa House of Assembly
Aisha Ahmed
FOMWAN, Dutse
Dauda Muhammad
Nigeria Union Journalist, Dutse
