Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
Ministries and Agencies of Government in Ebonyi State have been advised to provide adequate and functional feedback mechanisms.
A communications expert with the State Accountability, Transparency, and Effectiveness (State2State) Activity, Ngozi Egbuna, made the call in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State.
She gave the advice at an orientation workshop on Communication Strategy for Priority Ministries and the Internal Revenue Service in the state.
The orientation workshop is part of the working relationship between USAID and Ebonyi State Government and Civil Society Organisations.
It is geared towards transparent, accountable, and effective governance for improved service delivery in three priority sectors including Education, Health and Water Sanitation and Hygiene.
Egbuna told participants that ways of getting feedback include maintaining active social media channels for their organisations and also by providing contact details in all their messaging.
According to her, having feedback channels will help the MDAs to get important feedbacks in real time that will help them improve on their services and also checkmate sharp practices by staff and fake government agents where necessary.
The Communication Expert said the objectives of the workshop were to acquaint information Officers with the State’s Communication Strategy and its implementation action plan.
She noted that the strategy will provide a framework for effective communication and engagement with the public on the state’s policies, programmes and achievements.
The workshop, she further added, will also help to develop a scope of work to implement the strategy and to improve Information Officers’ capacities on the use of tools to effectively carry out their functions.
The Special Assistant to the State Governor on ICT, Tony Nwizi, said that the orientation will deepen the knowledge of Information Officers in the state on how to better explain the activities of the government in the chosen sectors to the public.
He noted that among the very many ICT compliant Organisations, USAID State2State, has distinguished itself, becoming a leading vanguard for integration of digital communication strategy in virtually all facets of human endeavour.
The state Team Lead, commended Ebonyi State Government for having a robust budget drafting framework which include inputs from communities, CSOs and other stakeholders.
He noted that the improvement in the budgeting process was as a result of the state government’s implementation of the advocacy inputs and advice by State2state and other partners.
In a goodwill message, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Ebonyi State, Comrade Samson Nwafor, expressed appreciation to USAID and the State Team Lead, for considering Ebonyi State for the orientation.
He maintained that Ebonyi is on the fast track of development and as such, the public should be kept abreast of what the government is doing for them, which is the main job of Information Officers.
The orientation workshop featured group presentations, review of the scope of work, development and adoption of an action plan.
One of the participants, Sylvester Egede, thanked the organisers of the programme and assured that they will put into practice all they learnt at the workshop.
