SolaceBase Data: Poor budget performance dims Kano residents hope of better water provision

By solacebase.com On May 10, 2024

SolaceData, budget performance, Kano, residents, water provision — SolaceData: Poor budget performance dims Kano residents hope of better water provision

By Aminu Abubakar

Kano state is the most populous state in Nigeria, based on official population data.

The state with its cosmopolitan nature and high level of commercial activities that dates back to the Tran -Sahara trade, is named the Centre of Commerce, Kano has suffered from water availability over many years.

In 2023, the Kano state government declared an emergency in its water sector, promising to rehabilitate the sector and ensure adequate water provision for its citizenry.

In this report, SolaceBase takes a look at the financial commitment of the state to tackling availability of water in the state.

Kano recorded the lowest performance for its Ministry of Water Resources in 2023 when it budgeted the sum of N15.07 billion but ended up spending only N1.5 billion at the end of the year.

In the year, it spent N5.8 million on rehabilitation/repairs of waterways. Construction of water facilities stood at N88.8 million.

Other years only offered a bit more hope, in 2022, the state budgeted N9.3 billion for its water resources ministry but only spent N4.1 billion.

In 2021 the same plight occurred, with N8.3 billion budgeted and an actual figure of N5.7 billion.

As of the first quarter of 2024, the state however spent N2.5 billion of the N13.5 billion budgeted for the whole of 2024.

Aside from 2021, when the state spent N5.4 billion on capital expenditure for its water sector, its expenditure up to 2023, has continued to tilt downward; falling from N5.4 billion in 2021, to N3.4 billion in 2022 and N1.5 billion in 2023.

However, as of the first quarter of 2024, N2.2 billion has been spent as capital expenditure on water resources.

As of April 2024, the Kano state government through its commissioner for water resources Alhaji Ali Makoda was quoted as stating that it spends N1.2 billion monthly on water resources and supply, yet the water crisis continues in the state.

“We spend N400 million monthly on diesel, N387 million on chemicals, while electricity bills take N280 million. There are also other costs. We are fixing the prevailing water scarcity in the state capital and its environs. In a couple of days, the problem will be over,” Mr Makoda Ali, the state commissioner for water resources, was quoted as saying.

However, data review questions the claims of the government, if the sum of N1.2 billion is spent monthly, then in three months (which makes up a quarter), the sum of N3.6 billion would have been expended as against N2.5 billion for the first quarter of 2024.

If the state spent N1.5 billion in the whole of 2023, it remains unclear how it then managed to spend N1.2 billion monthly on water supply at any point in the year.

Time to time, reports of water scarcity in Kano has continued unabated, for instance in 2021, 2022 and 2023 it was reported that Kano residents spent hours on queues to get water for their daily needs.

However, in 2024 the water is not even available so to say to have warranted the long queues.

With this many of the residents depend and survive with their daily water needs from unhygienic sources that include water vendors at exorbitant cost.

Cholera, a situation blamed on poor water hygiene, has also been recorded in Kano state.

For instance, in April 2022, alone, five persons were reported to have died of Cholera in the state while 189 cases were reported.

The case was worse off in 2021, where between March and September in the year, 329 persons were reported dead from Cholera while at least 11,475 cases were recorded in the 44 local government areas.

Data sources from the National Centre for Diseases Control show that as of February 2024, six cases of cholera were reported from Kano.

Experts have warned that poor water availability in Kano may expose residents to diseases and increase in fatality rate of the state.