By Vivian Onyebukwa
The Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget (MEPB), with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has moved to strengthen the capacity of the State’s officials to adopt child-centred, gender-sensitive, and inclusive planning and budgeting as a path towards addressing social and economic issues in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 1) to end poverty in all its forms everywhere.
This is contained in a communique issued on Wednesday in Lagos, following a five-day capacity-building workshop for Heads of Departments (HODs) of Economic Planning and Budget in the States 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs (57 LGAs/LCDAs) from Monday, March 5 to Friday 8.
The communique with the theme, “Importance of Adopting Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) and Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) 2052 in LGAs/LCDAs of Lagos State”, was signed by Giwa Olufemi, Chairman, and Jimoh Nurudeen, Secretary of the communique committee.
Speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos MEPB, Obajomo Amodu, said that the workshop was designed to enhance the skills of HODs Budgets. According to him, it is in preparation for Programme-Based Budgeting (PBB) and the application of MTSS to ensure that LGAs align their long-term plans with LSDP 2052. “Participants are expected to be more intentional in creating and prioritising budget lines specifically for addressing monetary and multidimensional poverty issues affecting vulnerable populations in the MTSS. Also, prioritise annual budgets and create awareness of the critical importance of planning and budgeting for children and women,” Amodu said.
Also, a Social Policy Officer at UNICEF Lagos Field Office, Hope Oduma, described the government’s plans as quantitative expressions of its vision and goals.
Oduma also commended the government for its determination to provide financial resources to ensure appropriate programmes were put in place and incorporated into the budgetary framework.
“The plans and budgetary frameworks can only be realistic when appropriate data is available and the government has a system for knowledge management, which happens to be one of the priorities outlined by the Lagos State government in the LSDP,” she said.
Again, Social Policy Manager, UNICEF, Lagos Field Office, Muhammad Okorie, said UNICEF had the mandate to advocate for the protection and fulfilment of the rights of every child.
Okorie said that the organisation also ensured that children’s basic needs were met and opportunities were provided for them to reach their full potential. “This can only be achieved when children are prioritised in plans with sufficient budget allocations at all levels of government which includes the local governments. The workshop has touched on data and evidence on the situation of children and women in the state, including the role of social protection and public financial management in addressing gaps identified. UNICEF is committed, therefore, to support the State by addressing the gaps. This is to ensure that every child in the state is reached regardless of their socio-economic status, religious belief, geographical location, and any other factor that can socially exclude or disenfranchise a child, “ Okorie said.
One of the participants, Deputy Director, Planning, Ministry of Agriculture, Ifelodun LCDA, Adeniyi Adeleke, said the current approach toward annual budgeting did not consider community development, which, according to him, might not yield the desired results. “The expenditure lines lead budgets in the budget template without a deliberate focus on addressing vulnerabilities among children at the local government level. From the knowledge gained at the workshop, future appropriations will be driven by developmental programmes and plans prioritising children, “ he said.