Politics
CONNECTED Development (CODE), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has inaugurated a project to deepen citizens’ interest in government spending and curb corrupt practices in the implementation of constituency projects in Kaduna State.
The Project Manager, Mr. Kingsley Agu, explained at the inaugural meeting on Thursday with stakeholders in Kaduna that the effort would ensure effective citizen participation in the implementation of constituency projects.
Agu said the project tagged, “Deepening Citizens’ Interest in Government Spending and Addressing Accompanying Corrupt Practices (DeSPAAC)” would be implemented between 2021 and 2023 with support from MacArthur Foundation.
He said that the Federal Government had budgeted more than N6 billion naira for constituency projects in 2020 and 2021 in the state.
He explained that the DeSPAAC project would mobilize community members in the three Senatorial Zones of the state and would track N1.1 billion worth of constituency projects in 2021.
“This is taxpayers’ money that will end up in private pockets if citizens failed to monitor how the projects are implemented.
“It is, therefore, in the best interest of the citizens to understand the projects, their rationale, and monitor the implementation process,” he said.
Agu said that CODE had in the last three years tracked the implementation of Universal Basic Education Commission and Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board’s projects in four local government areas of the state.
He added that the NGO, with support from MacArthur Foundation, was able to track about N500 million projects and conducted need assessment in 609 schools in the state.
Also speaking, Mr. Buhari Bello, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission’s Team Lead on Constituency Projects, noted that tracking constituency projects would ensure quality, timely delivery, and prevent corruption.
Bello, who commended CODE for the efforts, said that ICPC had tracked 80 percent of the N1.3 billion worth of constituency projects and 70 percent of N3.5 billion Federal Government’s projects in the state in 2020.
The State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, reiterated his administration’s commitment to improving public service through reforms to reduce corruption, eliminating duplication of functions, and minimizing waste of public resources.
Represented by the Commissioner for Planning and Budget Commission, Mr. Thomas Gyang, the governor said the state government was opening spaces for citizens’ engagement through Open Government Partnership (OGP).
Gyang, who was equally represented by his Special Assistant on Budget and Planning, Mr. Martins Sidi, thanked CODE and other NGOs for supporting the state to deliver good governance to the people.
El-Rufai said the state was entrenching transparency in government spending with a view to holding officials accountable, noting that effective citizen monitoring would subject officials to public scrutiny.
On his part, Malam Ibrahim Salihu, Chairman, Ikara Local Government Area of the state, commended CODE for the enlightenment on how to track implementation of government spending.
“CODE had particularly supported the tracking of projects in Ikara LGA and the result was quite commendable, as most of the projects were being implemented according to specifications and standards,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the inaugural meeting was attended by local government chairmen, heads of ministry, departments, and agencies, school-based management committees, and officials of the Universal Basic Education Commission, among others. (NAN)
– Feb. 12, 2021 @ 09:05 GMT /
Tags: NGO inaugurates project to curb corruption in constituency projects in Kaduna
