Budget: CSOs in Kogi advocate upward review of sectoral allocations

To meet internationally approved benchmark for sectoral allocations in the annual budgets, the Civil Societies Organisations (CSOs) in Kogi state has advocated up ward review of allocations to education, agriculture and health.

The organisations made the call at a workshop on Citizens Dialogue on Analysis of 2017 Approved budget for the three sectors organised by ActionAid Nigeria in collaboration with Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development (PIBCID).held on Wednesday in Lokoja with representatives of the three ministries as well as Budget and planning, the state Internal Revenue Service and other stakeholders.

While describing the sectors as critical to the development of the State they equallynoted that the sectoral allocation to Education of 7.7 per cent of the 2016 total budget and 13.76 per cent in 2017 was a far cry from the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) 26 per cent benchmark.

On Agriculture, the CSOs said the sector got 6.4 per cent in 2014; 4.3 per cent in 2015; 2.7 per cent in 2016 and 4.53 in 2017 against the 2003 African Heads of State and Governments Declaration of 10 per cent. The allocations to the Health sector according to them, have
been undulating since 2014 when it got 5.92 per cent as it dropped to 4.23 per cent in 2015, increased to 7.65 per cent in 2016 and suffered a fall to 6.6 per cent in 2017.

The budgetary allocations, according to them fell short of the April, 2001 Heads of State of
African Union (AU) countries benchmark of 15 per cent for the Health sector. They argued that while Education remained the bedrock of achievements of developed societies, Agriculture remained the key to unlocking the enormous economic potentials in the state while Health remained paramount in human capital development.

In her opening remarks, Mrs Gift Owonipa, Executive Director of PIBCID called on the state
government to always complete all budgetary processes and submit its annual supplementary bills to the state House of Assembly by the first week of September every year.
”This is to guarantee that the budget is approved and assented to on or before January 1, of the
next year”, she said, adding that there was need to review existing policies and framework on the sectors.