Kaduna State Government has spent less than half of its 2024 capital allocation in education and health, two of the most critical sectors for human development.
WikkiTimes reviews of the state budget implementation report for 2024 revealed that the Ministries of Agriculture and Works fared better.
According to the document, while the Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure, alongside that of Agriculture, recorded relatively strong performance, education and health underperformed, revealing spending gaps that could undermine service delivery in schools and hospitals across the state.
The report shows that Kaduna had a total budget of N458.2 billion for the fiscal year, out of which N403 billion was implemented, representing 88.9% performance.
Education and Health
The capital projects in the Ministry of Education were allocated N96.3 billion, but only N45.2 billion was spent, representing a 47% implementation rate. This shortfall questions the government’s commitment to addressing persistent challenges in the education sector, including dilapidated schools, teacher shortages, and poor learning outcomes.Â
The Ministry of Health, out of a budgeted N82.4 billion, got N29.3 billion implemented, a meagre 35.5% performance. In a state where access to primary healthcare is already limited increasingly growing population, this underperformance could mean delayed construction of health centres across hospitals and rural clinics.Â
Similarly, the figures point to a potential neglect of public health, with implications for maternal and child mortality rates.
Public Works and Agriculture
In contrast, the capital projects in the Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure recorded high performance, with N88.3 billion spent out of N115 billion, representing 76.8% implementation.Â
This suggests that road construction, bridges, and other infrastructure projects were prioritised, possibly because of their visibility and political significance. While improved infrastructure has economic benefits, the imbalance also raises questions about whether social needs are being sacrificed for brick-and-mortar projects.
The Ministry of Agriculture also performed better than the social sectors, spending N23.8 billion out of N33.3 billion, representing 71.5% implementation. Though the budget is the smallest, it indicates the government’s commitment to the implementation of the budget to enhance agricultural productivity. However, it remains unclear how much of this translated into direct benefits for rural communities and smallholder farmers.
