Idris Abubakar
The Kaduna State Government has approved the disbursement of N152.4m in performance grants to the 23 local government councils in the state.
The councils were awarded these fiscal incentives after assessments under the Local Government Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (LFTAS) program.
The Special Adviser to the Governor (Media & Communication), Muyiwa Adekeye in a signed statement, Monday, said Zaria and Jema’a local councils got the highest LFTAS incentives of N9.94m and N9.27m respectively, according to figures released in Kaduna today.
They are followed by Kaduna South, Lere, Giwa, Kaduna North, Kagarko, Zangon-Kataf, Soba, Sabon-Gari, Chikun, Ikara, Jaba, Kauru, Kachia, Kaura, Kajuru, Kudan, Makarfi, Birnin Gwari, Sanga, Igabi, and Kubau.
The LFTAS program was introduced by the Kaduna State Executive Council in June 2018 to strengthen inter-governmental fiscal coordination and support good practice in fiscal behaviour and standards across the 23 local government councils in the state.
At its meeting on Monday, the State Executive Council considered the report of the independent verification agent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the five disbursement-linked indicators (DLIs) on which the local government councils were assessed.
According to the statement, the Executive Council noted that the LFTAS program is helping to promote reforms in local government administration through improvements in budget planning and preparation, improved public procurement system and adherence to policy documents.
The Council therefore approved payment of N152.4m as first tranche performance grant to the 23 LGAs.
