by Christiana Gokyo, Jos
The Accountability Lab Nigeria, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP) ‘Open Contracting Partnership’ and the Plateau State Government has organized a Stakeholders Forum on Open Contracting and Project Accountability.
The crucial initiative is the cornerstone of the UNDP-funded Anti-Corruption and Innovation Project (ACIP) dedicated to fostering Transparency Accountability and Governance in public projects.
The event was held at Valada Hotel Jos, on Tuesday. While addressing stakeholders, Project Consultant for Accountability Lab Nigeria, Mr. Onyekachi Chukwu, said, 16 projects were identified, 5 were completed, while 6 were not found and 5 were abandoned.
The topic, ‘Project Monitoring Overview Tracking Field,’ was to ensure that resources are expanded judiciously and to provide evidence-based on Facebook that can inform policy decision and project to know, if it is providing serves to the people.
Speaking to newsmen, the Country Director Accountability Lab Nigeria, Mr. Odey Friday, said they are in the State “to support communities and also to bring together encode System Contracting and ensuring citizens’ engagement, which is part of what we are focusing on.
“We want to make governance work for people through Open Contracting through the projects that are being implementing in the communities and seeing how communities are being served by this projects and being satisfied with what they want and what they desired,” he stated.
According to him, “The outcome has not been satisfied. I am a citizen; I am speaking for a citizen. What we have seen from this project implemented by the MDAs government institutions are not satisfied.
“First of all, it’s not what the citizens want. Secondly, the projects are not completed to the quality they want; thirdly, it’s about the information available to them. Once, if information is not available to them, community members are not empowered to even engage government officials to provide feedback on the services, which have been provided to them.”
He noted that, “To ensure by the gathering that coordination between government, between citizens, private sectors contractors who are implementing these projects and everybody that is involved, we ensure that we are also on the same page. Most importantly that, governance and these services are in the best interest of citizens.
Also, the Chairperson of Coalition of Civil Society and Media of Open Contracting in Plateau State, Prof. Patricia Lar, said the Stakeholders Forum is a commendable one together with the Media.
“We have learned to call government to account for funds that are expended on projects in communities in the state.”
According to her, “There is the need for openness for engagement by society by community leaders, youths, women and everyone to be aware of projects and their values to their society.
She noted that, “Everyone is expected to put their hand on deck concerning every project. But, as you can see, some projects are embarking on without the knowledge of communities, and our role is to create awareness for people to hold government and every other agency accountable for the funds they expended; and our state will not remain the same again in respect to governance.
“We expect that, there is good governance in respect of money. When government announces budget, communities leaders are supposed to account for what is being claimed or what is being expended,” she said.
“The project should matter to the people; it should be relevant to their need, it should not just be any project,” she said, adding that, “Politicians, who are our representatives that we voted them, should work together with the communities to embark on relevant projects.
“You don’t just come and give lab or library when that is not what is needed as furniture in classroom, or they need roads or they need quarters.”
Prof. Lar further stated that, “People should be engaged. The work of this Coalition is to create this awareness,” and thanked the Accountability Lab “for supporting, for enhancing our capacities; and we are partnering with the Bureau for Public Procurement in Plateau State to deploy the contracting portal in the state.”
She further urged everyone, who has the capacity to know, that there is a portal, that is openness.
Speaking also, former Director-General of the Bureau for Public Procurement Plateau State, Engr. Peter Dogo, said “People should be carried along; communities should be carried along to make inputs.
“A member of the community should be present when handing over the project when completed; and there is much, much work to do for the Bureau for Procurement Process in the state.”
He said, “The issue is timely funding projects, and people must learn to stick to their profession; and there is need for us to ensure that communities are carried along, and we have to step it down.”
Engr. Dogo also noted that, there is need to know how long the project would last, explaining that any project that is still in the budget is ongoing project, with little amount of money on the budget.
Camryn Burnett