The Katsina State Government has clarified that the N15.4 billion the state received was a reimbursement from the World Bank through the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning for the COVID-19 project (NG-CARES).

The Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Bello Kagara, who clarified on Thursday in Katsina, said the money was not a relief fund.

The commissioner said that the NG-CARES) programme was an emergency initiative designed to support budgeted programmes and interventions at the state level.

He said It targets existing and newly emerging vulnerable and poor households, agricultural value chains, and Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) affected by the economic crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“NG-CARES is a Programme for Results (PforR) intervention, where States and FCT invest their resources, and produce results in line with the agreed protocols and guidelines.

“After that, he said, states would be reimbursed by the Federal Government after an Independent Verification Exercise,” he said.

The commissioner said that the state invested a huge amount of money into the programme in 2023, which led to “this significant return on investment.”

Kagara noted that the programme was in its third circle of implementation where the state earned N25.7 billion, and was reimbursed N15.4 billion out of the amount, representing 60 per cent of the earnings.

He said that the programme has three result areas where the successes were recorded in the state.

The commissioner listed the areas to include: the Community and Social Development Agency (CSDA), FADAMA and Katsina State Enterprise Development Agency (KASEDA).

According to him, in 2023, under the CSDA, livelihood support and micro projects across nutrition, health, education, water and sanitation, among others, were given to a large number of beneficiaries.

He added that the FADAMA component supported thousands of farmers with agricultural inputs/services to boost agricultural productivity and guarantee food security.

The commissioner stated that through the KASEDA, thousands of firms got operational support grants, while others received ICT enhancement tools to enhance their business in the state.

He, therefore, said that the state would increase its investments in those areas to earn more returns.

Culled from Daily Post