Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, has expressed the determination of the present administration in the state to improve public welfare and empower people to make the best of their talents.
In a state broadcast to the people of the state, governor El-Rufai reiterated, “We have sent the signals that change really means placing the needs of the people as our priority. Not for us to surrender to vested interests and people. Those that used to corner fertilizers, grains and other items or infect our civil service with ghost workers or inflate and abandon contracts will certainly be unhappy. But we shall not be distracted from our priorities to deliver public services to our people.”
Malam El-Rufai added that the present administration in the state was irrevocably committed to a leaner less expensive government, with well motivated civil servants, teachers and health care workers.
“We need an efficient public service to be able to deliver public goods, and we shall get it. As we make political appointments to help drive our development agenda, we are seeking people who have capacity to do the job in a way that benefit all of society that the appointee of patrons of the appointees.
“The work of change that you have charged us to do requires a commitment to sacrifice, cooperation and hard work by all. So far, we have started taking the necessary decisions to set a new direction for the state and make the government an enabler of development rather than a guzzle of revenues.”
He explained that the state government had decided to make the budget confirm to the state’s financial reality, stressing that over the years, the state budget became a process to justify spending, not a mechanism to achieve results, structure economic development and improve social cohesion.
“Therefore, budgeting in Kaduna State will henceforth be based on the zero-based budgeting system. This means that every expenditure item will have to be justified both in terms of its necessity, cost and availability of funds vis-a vis other competing needs before it can be included in the state budget.
“We have made clear our intention to devote a larger chunk of the state’s resources to providing public service. We have signalled that a government, elected by majority vote, should serve the majority.” .
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