The Katsina State Government says it is committed to enhance the capacity of relevant staff in the area of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) across government organisations in the state.
Alhaji Mas’ud Buhari, the Director M&E, Ministry of Budget and economic planning expressed the commitment in Katsina on Friday.
He disclosed this during a one-day monitoring and evaluation meeting with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the state.
He said that the state government is poised to enhance the capacity, hence the need to hold the meeting which will lead to the training of the officers.
According to Buhari, the training will deepen their understanding on the definition, concept and practice of M&E in the state’s public service.
“Katsina State Government is embracing a more strategic approach to service delivery with a view to institutionalising the implementation and practice of M&E towards delivery of its plans, projects and programmes.
“It has been observed that there is a challenge in the application and understanding of M&E terminologies, tools, templates and indicators by targeted officials of the state government.
“A fall out of this development has led to poor reporting practice, inadequate data and inconsistency in reporting. “Therefore, the interpretation of M&E has been inconsistent and incoherent,” he revealed.
He noted that in this regard, the ministry in collaboration with UNICEF Field Office Kano, organised the brief discussion on M&E as a start to address the inherent challenges observed.
“M&E is an evolving area of expertise that is topical and opposite globally. Its relevance in the implementation of government and Non-governmental plans, projects and programmes cannot be over emphasised.
“The system supports effective service delivery and accountability for utilised public funds.
“It is no wonder that M&E has increasingly become a core practice amongst public and private practitioners over the world,” according to Buhari.
Earlier, the Director of planning from the ministry, Alhaji Muhammad Danrimi said the meeting was to strengthen the practices of M&E in delivering government activities, including projects and services.
“To also train the M&E officers in the MDAs in order to improve their capacity in monitoring and evaluating government programmes and related issues for proper and smooth running of activities in the state,” he said.
About The Author
