Budget: CODE Urges Kaduna Government to Prioritize Issues of Young People

By Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna

An NGO, Connected Development otherwise known as CODE, has urged the Kaduna State Government to consider areas that will address issues affecting young people in their plans and budget in the future.

Chief Executive Officer of CODE, Hamzat Lawal, made the request on Wednesday when his team paid a courtesy call on the State Commissioner, Planning and Budget Commission, Mr. Thomas Gyang.

Hamzat, who spoke through the Kaduna State Lead of CODE, Zaliha Lawal, said even though the state is doing so much in open governance, education and the health sector, they are not enough as long as issues of young people are not prioritised.

“We are looking at 2020 the road map to Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), how are these young people infused when it comes to sustainable development, when it comes to education; how sustainable is our education, how sustainable is our health sector?

“What we want is to see that sustainable education that’s going to lead to the growth and development that we want. And the future of the world today is ICT, how digital is our education, how does it top in the ICT sector right from the secondary school to tertiary school?

“Today we shout that the rate of unemployment is high, is not that there are no jobs but the jobs that we have today and the skills that we have are not commensurate. So how can young people have the skills that should fit into the future jobs, that is what we want to see in the budget.”

He said.On the health sector, CODE’s CEO noted that there are a lots of issues, adding “those priorities of government, does it really speak to what the young people want? Sexual reproductive health for instance; access to contraceptive, access to family planning, as young people we have noticed that there is a lot of discrimination when young people want to access family planning. Why don’t we allow them to have access to those things that will help them, these are the things that we want to see in the budget.

“So what we are asking is that when government is preparing their budget, it should look into what young people really want and they should look into the future of Kaduna State. They say the youths are leaders of tomorrow and for us tomorrow is now.

“In his reaction, the Commissioner, said government is doing everything within her reach to ensure that young people are developed in the state.

According to him, as part of measures to ensure they are well skilled and equipped technologically, the government in the last few years distributed Tablets to schools for their learning, but unfortunately most of them are nowhere to be found.

He said the government is already planning to establish computer laboratories in schools across the state with desktops where young people will have full access to ICT and that will be properly managed by the schools management.

Mr. Gyang, added that Kaduna State education budget is best as far as the country is concern and that the state ensured stead releases and cash backing of projects in the education sector.

On the health sector, He revealed that the state is currently recruiting 1000 staff to work at the Primary Healthcare Centres across the state and that those expected to apply are young people.

He therefore assured CODE that his commission is open to releasing any information they required in holding government accountable because for them, government is not a cult group and can not withhold information relevant to support the work of her partners.

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  1. January 25, 2024

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