Kaduna state has restated it commitment to a child friendly budgeting with a view to improving the welfare and wellbeing of children in the state.
The state Commissioner of Budget and Planning, Muhktar Ahmed, stated this on Friday in Kano, while declaring open a five-day workshop for the state’s Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) implementation team, organise with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
He called on the directors related to children desk to always follow up on their budgets to ensure timely and effective implementation of their set out programs.
The commissioner said good planning and budget enhance good governance, as such, the workshop would provide a platform for the team to improve their skills and understand more on the nitty-gritty in the budget process to improve governance.
“This workshop comes at a critical time as we consolidate efforts to align our budgeting process with the MTEF, Sector Implementation Plans (SIPs), and the principles of programme-based budgeting.
“These tools are not merely technical innovations—they are strategic enablers for improved fiscal discipline, better resource allocation, and stronger accountability to the citizens of Kaduna State.”
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Ahmed noted that the workshop would hold rigorous sessions on the standard MTEF and budget preparation process, the use of the programme segment of the national chart of accounts, sector situation analysis, and practical applications of the MTSS costing templates, aimed at ensuring budgets are evidence-based, gender and social inclusion compliant, and directly responsive to the development priorities of the state.
While thanking UNICEF for their continued partnership and technical support in strengthening their public financial management systems, he said the training is like a refresher for the participants, giving them more insight into world best practices in preparing a very good budget for the state’s development.
In her remarks, Social Policy Officer, UNICEF Kaduna Field Office, Wakidara Mavis Akila, said the aim of the workshop was to advocate for Child sensitive budgeting, through enhancing the capacity of relevant stakeholders on program based budgeting.
“It is important because we want to see the issues of children especially in the four focal areas of health, education, WASH, and social protection reflected in the budget.
“This is important because they are in the process of finalising the MTEF and other budget processes,” she stated.
