By Ibrahim Muhammad Kano
Furtherance to the need for timely and early preparedness of budgeting process for better results upon implementation, the Kano State Ministry of Health has constituted a nine member Committee and saddled with the responsibility of early preparation of the budget and track its implementation for better performance.
Inaugurating the Committee, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, said the move is very important looking at the unrealistic nature of the budget of the Ministry that characterized with repeated copy and paste over the years, lamenting that what one sees in the budget of the Ministry is just duplication year by year.
Dr. Labaran reasoned that that was why the Ministry deems it pertinent to sit together and map out strategies in order to have focus and aims and objectives in every fiscal year on what really needs to be achieved in its budget so that they start planning from the beginning of the year.
The Commissioner emphasized that this would also assist the development partners to understand the planned activities the state has on health for the whole year in its budget so that they diversify their funds to doing other meaningful activities instead of duplicating the already planned and budgeted projects.
He then charged members of the Committee to work industriously to justify the confidence reposed on them by turning around the planning and budgeting of the Ministry to a robust and realistic one by doing all the possible best to ensure the budget meets its objectives and performs excellently as well.
The terms of reference of the Committee include promoting the collaboration by both departments with regards to Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) activities by coordinating joint monitoring and evaluation activities, facilitating quarterly monitoring visits to agencies and help the Ministry gets releases of the approved funds.
Others are facilitating the development of Annual Operational Plan (AOP) Performance Reports which highlights the impact of budget expenditure and demonstrate the improved capacity of the Ministry of Health to efficiently utilize funding allocations as well as facilitating the dissemination of Annual Performance Reports to key internal and external stakeholders including the Ministry of Planning and Budget and State House of Assembly,
The Committee has Director Planning, Research and Statistics, Muhammad Murtala Abubakar, as its Chairman, while the AOP Focal Person, Nasir Tafida will serve as the Secretary.
Members are Director Admin and General Services, Shehu Sani Shehu, Deputy Director Planning and Budget, Tijjani Abubakar Kilishi, and Officer in charge of Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the Ministry, Aminu Aliyu El-Yakub.
Others are Health Finance Focal Person, Auwalu Bello Shehu, Deputy Director Accounts, Muhammad Mustapha Nayaya, Head Expenditure Control, Shuaibu Abdullahi and Head of Salaries and Wages, Muhammad Sani Bello.
