Zamfara State Government has ensured robust collaboration with United Nations agencies and other donors for the effective implementation of programs that will improve citizens’ well-being.
The State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Abdulmalik Abubakar-Gajam, disclosed this to the Newsmen on Monday in Sokoto.
He said the state was confronted with myriads of challenges and needed collaborative support while the donor agencies were chased away by the past government.
” The incumbent Gov. Dauda Lawal, when he assumed duty as elected governor, made a strategic approach to address the challenges and invited agencies and strengthen relationships,” he said.
According to him, the state had designed a Medium Term Expenditure Framework (M-TEF) for the first time and collaborated with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on a 10-year-strategic plan to develop the state.
Abubakar-Gajam noted that the present administration had declared a state of emergency in the health, education, and agricultural sectors with higher budget allocations.
He explained that the education sector obtained about N55 billion allocation to ensure that more than 20,000 students sitting at home without writing final year secondary school examinations got the opportunity.
”Some children have to trek about three kilometers to access primary education in another settlement along with a growing number of out-of-school children, which was alarming.
”Security challenges have led to the closing of many schools, with poor infrastructures which were inadequate to cater for the growing student population in the state.
”A model Almajiiri school was inaugurated by the present administration within a short period to address the out-of-school children and increased enrollment,” he said.
The Commissioner added that there was no functional general hospital and equipment when they took over with a dearth of manpower and expertise because patients die due to poor services.
” Only 108 Medical Doctors cater for 5.8 million people in 147 political wards of the state before Lawal’s administration with poor agricultural programmes despite agrirerian opportunities in the state.
” Present administration allocated N33 billion to health which had translated into upgrading many primary healthcare centers to General Hospitals and transforming many to state of the art health facilities, ” he added.
He further explained that 19,000 farmers were supported. with inputs, 600 communities benefited from livestock business support while 10,000 persons obtained N50,000 cash transfers to enhance their livelihoods.
According to him, the international agencies assisted them in developing an improved standard social register that captured all categories of vulnerable, making it easy to access genuine support directly without meddling and interference.
” With Donor’s support, the state at present has Social Protection and Child Protection Laws which guarantee equitable and equality policies friendly to women, children, and physically challenged persons.
”The relationships have strengthened access to World Bank grants having complied with the operational guideline of paying back after execution of the project, ” he said.
Abubakar-Gajam added that Zamfara became the first to implement the NG-CARE programme with an appreciated social register free of manipulation as obtained in the past, where a person would compile the list of beneficiaries.
He explained that the collaboration has facilitated the support of thousands of vulnerable persons and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who were about 500,000 population based on the in-house statistics on shelter, feeding, and others.
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