Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe has said that the best way to regain citizens’ trust in government and public institutions is to build strong systems that will deliver quality service to the people.
Speaking at the ‘’Rebuilding Trust in Government Institutions’’ virtual conference organised by Connected Development, Dr. Balarabe noted that there is a general decline in citizens’ trust in government and public institutions globally.
Dr Balarabe recalled that when the current government of Kaduna State came into power in 2015, public trust in public schools and hospitals was at its lowest ebb, such that only the poorest of the poor patronised them.
‘’This was reversed by massive investment in fixing public schools and hospitals and the sacking of unqualified teachers, which has restored citizens confidence, leading to increased enrolment in public primary schools,’’ she said.
The Deputy Governor also said that “Kaduna state reformed its public service, strengthened its institutions and redirects public funds to provide utilities to render social services to residents of the state.
‘’Reforming the public service and building systems made us to regain investors’ confidence and we are able to attract over $500 million investments into the state,’’ she added.
According to her, Kaduna State also encouraged citizens participation in budgeting through town hall meetings, ‘’by subjecting our budgeting process to citizen participation, we integrate the yearning and aspirations of a broad section of the public in our annual spending.’’
“We enhanced citizens engagement by making information readily available and opened our accounts to the public by publishing our audited accounts annually.
‘’We signed up to Open Government Partnership (OGP) that allows for transparent government transaction and passed anti-corruption laws to entrench probity and accountability in managing public funds,’’ she added.
The Deputy Governor further argued that trust in government withers when people are shut out and government is run devoid of transparency and accountability.
According to her, there must be a conscious effort to build and rebuild trust by channelling public resources to serve the people, for every government to regain their confidence.
Dr Balarabe also said that citizens should be allowed to participate in governance by making their voices heard and by rendering accountability to the people, adding that these measures will enhance confidence in the political leadership.
The Deputy of Governor of Kaduna State further said that ensuring these will consequently attract cooperation of citizens to the agreed policies and programmes of the government.
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