ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF KADUNA STATE ARC MOHAMMED NAMADI SAMBO (FNIA) AT THE OCCASION OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE 2008 BUDGET ESTIMATES TAGGED “THE PEOPLE’S” BUDGET TO THE HON. MEMBERS OF THE STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ON TUESDAY 18^TH DECEMBER 2007.

PROTOCOL

It is exactly seven months now that we have been steering the affairs of Kaduna State with an already established budget which we have been implementing faithfully to this day to ensure continuity and progress in the governance of State.

Prior to our ascension to the mantle of leadership of the State, we have transversed the nooks and crannies of the State on an electioneering campaign selling to the electorates our Party Manifesto as well as our established programme of action. This is all with the intention of providing the enabling environment for the socio-economic development of the state and its citizenry.

Our already fashioned Eleven-Point-Agenda, which is a populist programme for implementation has overtime received wide public acclaim and acceptability by the good people of our dear State. We have within the available resources provided by this year’s financial advancement supplemented the budget to ease our 2008 implementation strategies.

Mr. Speaker, Hon Members, in fulfilling my constitutional obligation, it is my singular honour and privilege to present the Draft Budget for the 2008 financial year. However, before proceeding to do justice to the 2008 draft estimate, a review of the 2007 budget will suffice. In the year 2007  an approved budget size of N77,053,400,765 for the fiscal year comprising N30,387,569,530 and N46,665,836,245 both recurrent and capital expenditure respectively was appropriated by the immediate past members of the State Assembly. The sum of N3 billion for capital expenditure as supplementary which was prompted by expected additional revenue of N3 Billion from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) projects, was appropriated and approved for implementation. A total Paris Club re-payment of N12 billion has been realized in three installments, the last of which is being processed now by the Central Bank of Nigeria, these payments has by no means improved the statutory grants due to our State. With these receipts, it is worthy of note to mention that impressive achievements have been recorded in the completion of the already committed allocation on road construction and the provision of infrastructural  facilities.

Several Agricultural programmes have been achieved as planned which were intended to boost the agricultural output in the state as well as provide employment to our teeming population in the rural and urban areas. To achieve this noble objective, the State Government awarded contracts worth N700 million in the year under review on various irrigation programmes.

The issue of power generation received the attention of government and consultants have reached an advanced stage in an effort to provide adequate supply to boost our socio-economic activities and to attract investors and investments in the state which action shall consequently lead to employment opportunities and poverty alleviation.

In the Education sector, Government is implementing the provision of free primary education and augmentation of the existing provisions to enhance the educational pursuit of its citizenry. In its effort to develop secondary school education, the State Government has awarded contracts for repairs, renovation and supply of furniture to secondary schools worth about N1 Billion and are at various stages of completion. Higher education has also received a boost with contract worth about N285 million awarded for the development of the State University. The construction of Faculty of Science awarded at the cost of N295 Million has been completed.

Also, repairs and renovation have commenced at former ABUTH, which was taken over by the State University, with the plan of converting it to faculty of Medicine.

On the provision of Health Service, the sum of over N400 million has bee earmarked for construction and rehabilitation of  hospitals across the state including the establishment of a specialist hospital with a capacity of over 500 beds. The pay-package of medical personnel in the State has also been enhanced to attract them to provide quality service to the citizenry in the State while  the sum of N75 Million is specifically expended on monthly basis for the provision of Free Medical Services for Pregnant Women and Children Under 5 Years

2008 BUDGET- THE PEOPLE’S BUDGET

In putting together the 2008 budget, our greatest consideration is in the obvious need to provide services to the citizens of Kaduna State that will directly affect and upgrade their living standard.

Our determination to fully realize our revenue generation potentials to the fullest and minimize revenue losses has propelled us to put adequate mechanisms for the attainment of this objective. To achieve this, stringent measures will be employed to ensure that the projected revenue for 2008 is fully collected.

Receipts for statutory sources are subject to the international prices for crude oil. Inspite of this, we are determined to ensure the pursuit of the philosophy of socio-economic empowerment, accordingly, we have made realistic projection of N34, 313,067,905.00 to be collected from the usual statutory allocation. Other sources include capital receipts which we plan to raise in order to deliver on our promises to our people. Sources for this receipts shall be from Value Added Tax, budget surplus, external loans/draw down, grants for Donor Assisted Projects, Grants for HIV/AIDS Control Projects, JICA Grants, Millennium Village Grants, Education Trust Fund (State and SUBEB), Federal Government Intervention Fund, Kaduna State Partnership USAID & DFID and the World bank, interest on investments, Human Development Funds, Local Government Contribution to Joint Projects and Miscellaneous  (privatization) Grants which then puts our expected capital receipts at N44,084,904,360.00.

Our projected recurrent estimate is as follows:

RECURRENT EXPENDITURE

CONSOLIDATED REVENUE FUND

CHARGES:                                         3,609,812,250

PERSONNEL COST:                      14,827,315,450

OVERHEAD COST                         20,709,506,620

PUBLIC DEBT CHARGES

(REPAYMENTS):                               800,000,000

10% TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT

JOINT COUNCIL       :                         800,000,000

                                                            40,746,632,946

Mr. Speaker, Honorable Members, our proposed capital outlay for 2008 financial year stands at N44,084,904,360.00 The sectoral allocation has taken cognizance of the economic  sector  made up of agriculture, livestock, fishery, Power, commerce and finance and transport with a sub-total of N16,55,062,715.00 the social sector comprising of Education, Health, Information and Social Development has a sub-total of N11,537,742,075.00 Regional Development Sector made up of water supply, environment, urban development, community development with a sub-total of N9,233,488,760.00 and the administration sector with a sub-total of N6,318,610,810.00 totaling N44,084,904,360.00.

The agricultural sector shall be the shock absorber of the efforts of Government to reduce poverty and generate employment opportunities through the provision of dams and irrigation projects within the state. Government has also made a provision of 1% of its capital budget in the people’s budget to support the Federal Government initiative for the establishment of micro-finance banks in the State. The purpose is to ensure that financial services are made available to the vast majority of the low income earners to assist them engage in productive activities and consequently lead to job creation.

The health sector shall continually receive a boost with the consolidation of the already established programmes and the building of the state-of-the-art hospital in Kaduna with a capacity of 500 beds.

Our transport initiative shall encourage providing affordable and widely reach transport facilities that will guarantee adequate inter-state as we as intra-state and metropolitan transportation requirements.

To ensure success in this direction, a whopping sum of N1.9 billion has been earmarked to this sector.

Education shall continue to fill its pride of place under this administration. The current programme of Free & Compulsory Primary Education shall be pursued with vigour. Other initiatives aimed at promoting education in both the vocational, secondary and tertiary institutions shall also be pursued. Repairs, renovation and rehabilitation of schools shall also be intensified. More qualified teachers shall be employed under the enhance package for all the stages of our education pursuits to meet our ever Millennium Development Goals requirements.

DUE PROCESS OFFICE

One of the major thrusts of this administration is the acceptance of Due Process mechanism as an instrument for embracing transparency, competition, fairness, integrity and value for money in the procurement process and procedures. Since the creation of the office and the appointment of a Special Adviser as its Chairman on the 18^th June, 2007 to set up and head the Bureau, the impact of the Due Process Mechanism on the contract administration in the State has been very positive. Reports have shown that procurement or contract procedures in the State are now transparent, cost of projects are now properly checked through the well-equipped price intelligence unit of the Due Process Office and there is effective monitoring of project execution resulting in value for money.

The development efforts taking place in Kaduna State have attracted the attention of our development partners within and outside the State. Private sector establishments have indicated interest in partnering with the State to promote non-oil sector in the State because of high potentials that abound in the State. The international community has also expressed enthusiasm to enter into partnership arrangements with the State to further support our poverty alleviation programmes, social sector development and solid minerals development. In pursuance of this, the State is already embarking on new projects with the development partners in the following areas:

(i)              Governance and Capacity Building Project- a World Bank sponsored initiative which has finally taken-off in the state;

(ii)           Kaduna state – Japan initiative  for production and export of ginger, cassava, acha and beniseed

• Millennium Village project which is located at Pampaida in Ikara L.G.A .which the United Nations and philanthropists all over the world are supporting;

• Kaduna State- India initiative for cottage industry development and skills acquisition;

• Kaduna State- china initiative for the production, processing and export of ginger, sugarcane, cassava, etc

• The State and Local Government project (SLGP) has already been mobilized in the State and had commenced its training programmes;

• The partnership between Kaduna State and World Bank, DFID and USAID will take off in January, 2008;

• The Partnership for the Transformation Health Systems (PATHS) between DFID and the State has commenced effective work in the health sector

Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, we are partners in the service of the people of Kaduna State. May I therefore seize this opportunity to congratulate ourselves for the journey so far I also wish to appreciate the role of religious leader, traditional rulers, NGOs Labour, Media organizations and my political colleagues and the civil servants, the engine room for rapid development whose support and cooperation propelled us to greater heights.

As these festivities are around the corner, may Almighty Allah see us through these events safely and may Kaduna State witness the type of progress it more than envisages in the New Year.

Thank you and God bless.

Governor Arch Mohammed Namadi Sambo is a true democrat, whose approach to problems is always humane and conciliatory he is a man of peace who patiently looked to the future with courage and hope. His commitment in the direction of transforming the state into a relatively better integrated and functional polity is continuing  with a mission  to create a stable  and cohesive polity capable of securing effectively the interests of the various communities and giving them the opportunity to develop and live in peace  with one another.