By YUSUF ISHAKU GOJE
That the Kaduna State Social Protection Policy Implementation Plan is yet to be approved is worrisome considering the reality that household income and welfare of millions of poor and vulnerable is at stake. Granted some of the social protection interventions in the state are ongoing, but the gaps the policy seeks to address still persist. The importance of the approval of the implementation plan cannot be overemphasized, without which the policy will just be another academic exercise to tick the box.
In February this year, the Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-rufai, launched the State Social Protection Policy, which was earlier approved by the State Executive Council in 2020. The policy is conceptualized to provide a comprehensive and well-coordinated framework to protect the poor and vulnerable from further social risk and economic shocks. Equally important is that the policy design had the inputs of stakeholders especially the civil society under the umbrella of Kaduna Social Protection Accountability Coalition (KADSPAC).
The policy launch had raised the optimism that beyond the evident and predominant focus on infrastructure development by the state government, which has medium to long time potential impact; in the short term those less socially and economically privileged will not be neglected. This is also in the light that poverty and unemployment continue to rise in the state. Hence any hesitation on the part of the state government in approving the implementation of the policy puts the welfare and lives of many at risk.
The state governor has continued to make public pronouncements on social protection, such as the recent one that all beneficiaries of the interventions should be strictly mined from the State Social Register. However, as good as this sounds not much will be achieved without an approved and comprehensive implementation framework in place. It is more urgent as this is almost eight months after the launch of the policy without the approval of the plan
Agreed the policy implementation plan is ambitious and will require huge sums of money to execute, the state government should do everything within its power to expand the fiscal space to fund it. This is only when its slogan of ‘putting people first’ will be evident and meaningful especially to millions of poor and vulnerable households in the State. Private sector funding should be extensively explored including tax holidays to source for funds.
Equally critical to the implementation plan realization is the accelerated passage of the Social Protection bill. This will not only improve coordination but enable the activation of the proposed trust fund to finance the implementation plan. Timeliness is key as the more the 2023 elections draw near, the more it will be distracting and difficult for the state government to fulfill her commitments made towards strengthening the State Social Protection System.
In conclusion, the only way to reassure stakeholders of the commitment of the state government on putting the people first and leaving no one behind is to ensure immediate approval of the policy implementation plan and accelerated passage of the Social Protection Policy into law.
