The need to ensure government at all levels, particularly the grassroots are held accountable for activities within their jurisdiction necessitated the recent two-day capacity building seminar organised by the Human Development Initiatives (HDI) in Lagos. The seminar, which is the second in the series, focused on budgeting at the local government level which is the first step of planning needed for any feasible change.
Participants comprising coordinators of watch group, local government budget officers and head of departments, National Orientation Agency (NOA) and media practitioners, were trained on how to get involved fully in order to ensure transparency and accountability in governance.
The opening day had Professor Bolaji Owosanoye, Executive Director, HDI, explain the reason behind the project to participants. In his remarks, he emphasised the prominent position of local government in ensuring social services are delivered to the people at the grassroots even as he stressed active participation of citizens in the budgeting process.
Taking participants on the tools and laws for citizens’ participation in the budget process was Mr. Victor Abel of the Centre of Social Justice.
Abel stated “that the exclusion of the people from the budgetary process of the county will not only lead to a short-term apathy, but a near long run revolution that will cripple the entire economy.”
In her presentation entitled: ‘Using the Freedom of Information Act for budget tracking and reporting’ Deputy Director, Media Rights Agenda, Jennifer Onyejekwe, observed that “The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011 gives any person the right to ask any public institution for any record, data or information that is held in the institutions, custody. It is a proactive disclosure as a means to promote transparency in governance.”
Proffering solution on how to monitor and track budgets and its implementation, Mr. Femi Adesina, Deputy Managing Director, The Sun Publishing Company, publishers of The Sun Newspaper titles, called on media houses to involve figure-oriented persons in their rank to ensure proper scrutiny and tracking.
Tag: monitoring
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Experts want citizens participation in budget monitoring
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Osun gets budget monitoring software
The Osun State Government has acquired a software for monitoring budgets and projects.
Commissioner for Finance, Economic Planning and Budget Dr. Wale Bolorunduro broke the news in his office in Osogbo, the state capital, while receiving a report about “developing input and output strategies on local content” from the Chief Executive Officer of the Osun Economic Consultants on Local Content Policy, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju.
The commissioner said the software, known as ECOMATRIX, was customised for the use of Osun State.
He said: “It is the latest of such modelling software and is a step above the 2002 version in use by the Federal Government.”
Bolorunduro said the software would make planning easier, make results more verifiable and help in actualising the six-point Integral Action Plan of the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration.
He said the modelling programme would predict the number of direct and indirect jobs that are created from every fiscal input of government and give the government an accurate evaluation of the impact of its policies on job creation and the economy.
Bolorunduro said: “The State Local Content Policy, fondly called Osun Content Policy by the governor, calls for a target of 80 per cent utilisation of Osun personnel in all public projects and reserves 20 per cent for effective transfer of technology through hands-on experience by experts.
“It also stipulates that contractors draw 50 to 60 per cent of their manpower and material input from local communities.”
He said the local content policy was aimed at developing the economy.
The commissioner said his ministry would ensure compliance with the policy.
Adenikinju said: “The policy will stimulate growth in various sectors of the economy and raise the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The software is the first in Nigeria and probably in the West African region. It can also be used to simulate policy options by running a series of scenarios to examine the likely impact on employment generation.”
Dr. Afeez Salisu of Beads Synergy Integrated Nigeria Limited also presented a report on Household Service Delivery to the commissioner.
Salisu hailed the administration for “recognising the need to have a robust and up-to-date database to serve as a baseline for assessing service delivery and assist in designing a geo-demographic system”.
He said this would eventually improve the quality of life of the people.
Stressing the importance of housing as fundamental to health, welfare, survival and development, Salisu said the objective of the project was to assess socio-economic development at the household level by collating data on the characteristics of residential buildings in the state.
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Wike to UBEC: improve monitoring
Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike has called on the management of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to improve its monitoring and evaluation of basic education projects.
The minister decried the poor supervision of work at the Federal Government Special Girl Child School in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
Wike, who spoke in Lafia yesterday while monitoring the school project, condemned the quality of job carried out by the contractor under the supervision of UBEC consultant.
He said it was below the Federal Government’s specification.Wike said: “What has happened here today is the reason why I insist on personally monitoring projects to know their status. I am not happy with this job. The UBEC consultant and the official, who commenced the take over process, must be sanctioned”.
He said the Federal Government would not condone shoddy execution of basic education projects.
The minister also visited Governor Tanko Almakura and called on state governments to improve their surveillance of State Universal Basic Education Boards on the diversion of books.
Almakura said the Federal Government’s investments in education was necessary to entrench development across the country.