The Speaker of the Jigawa State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Idris Garba, has pledged the support of the Assembly for the ongoing reforms in the State Budget Process. He affirmed this at the 2020 budget preparatory session organised by the State Budget and Economic Planning Directorate (BEPD) held in Kaduna State.

The PERL-supported event officially kickstarted the 2020-2022 Economic and Fiscal Update, Fiscal Strategy Paper and Budget Policy Statement (EFU-FSP-BPS) (otherwise known as Medium Term Expenditure Framework - MTEF) process in the State with critical sessions on fiscal projection, revenue expectations and budget process mapping. Stakeholders in the budget cycle were taken through the scientific tools that are being utilized in achieving a realistic and timely budget.

The preparatory session also brought to the fore challenges in annual budgets preparation and created a platform for proffering solutions to them.

Participation of key members of the State House of Assembly and citizens’ groups led to an in-depth deliberation around the existing budget process, with strong commitments from the budget directorate and the State Assembly. One of such commitments is the involvement of citizen groups and members of State House of Assembly at the initial stages of the budget process including Sector Performance Review (SPR), Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) and the MDAs-Governor budget interactive sessions.

Speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary of the Budget and Economic Planning Directorate, Alhaji Muhammad Adamu Garun Gabas, expressed satisfaction with the level of engagements between Government and Civil Society groups on the budget process.

While appreciating the support of the DFID-PERL and predecessor programmes, He stated that budget reforms in Jigawa have come to stay as they are being institutionalized in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government. He sought the support of the new State Assembly in ensuring a smooth 2020 budget process. In responding, Speaker of the State House of Assembly expressed the readiness of the Assembly to work with the Executive in ensuring the success of the entire budget cycle.

For more than a decade, DFID has supported the budget process and other components of Public Financial Management in Jigawa State by strengthening systems to accommodate citizens participation in Governance processes in an open, accountable and transparent manner.