The Kaduna Social Protection Accountability Coalition (KADSPAC) has launched a two-day intensive budget monitoring and tracking initiative for the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) responsible for social protection interventions in Kaduna State.
At the launch, KADSPAC Chairperson Jessica Bartholomew, represented by Mikail Abdulrahaman, highlighted that the initiative aims to enhance transparency by publicly disclosing funds allocated for social protections, including releases, cash backing, and budget performance.
Supported by Save the Children International (SCI), the engagement focuses on tracking the 2023/2024 Social Protection Intervention budgets to boost transparency and accountability.
Bartholomew noted that KADSPAC is a coalition of civil society and media partners working to improve coordina
tion, transparency, and accountability in the delivery of social protection programs for vulnerable populations in Kaduna State.
Shola Ojo, Chair of KADSPAC’s Evidence and Knowledge Management Committee, outlined the engagement’s objectives: to strengthen accountability mechanisms for effective civil society and citizen engagement in the budgeting process and to determine the actual spending of the Kaduna government on social protection interventions for the first and second quarters of 2024.
Umar Sani Maikudi, State Coordinator of the Kaduna State Social Protection Agency (KADSIPA), stressed the importance of this initiative in ensuring transparency and accountability in social protection programs. He acknowledged significant progress made in recent years but emphasized the ongoing need to ensure resources are effectively utilized to support the most vulnerable members of society.
Participants at the event expressed concerns over budget releases that are not backed by cash, attributing this issue to low-budget performance in some MDAs.
