Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Stakeholders in various communities in Anambra State have been urged to take an active role in community governance to promote transparency and accountability in project and policy implementation.
The call was made at a one-day workshop organised by Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), a non-governmental organisation, in collaboration with Creative Minds Centre for Youth and Community Development (CM-CYCD) in Awka, Anambra State capital, Thursday.
Ikengaonline reports that the event was aimed at enhancing citizens skills in project monitoring and community-based engagement and empowering them to support increased citizen participation in local government governance processes.
Executive Director, Creative Minds Centre for Youth and Community Development (CM-CYCD), Ugochi Freeman, emphasised the importance of citizen participation in community governance, stating that “active participation is crucial for ensuring that community projects and programmes align with the needs and priorities of the people.”
Ugochi said when citizens are actively engaged in procurement processes, their monitoring ensures transparency, prevents corruption, and promotes efficient use of resources.
Speaking at the event, Senior Programme Manager at PPDC, Samuel Akende, stressed the relevance of accountability in procurement governance, stating that it remained the backbone of good governance.
According to him, accountability goes a long way in preventing corruption, improving efficiency and building public trust in a governance system. He urged citizens to utilise tools of engagements and others within the digital and legal frameworks to promote accountability in their localities.
Another facilitator, Mrs Precious Adigwe, who spoke on “Gender Responsive Procurement and Community Engagement, advocated for equity and fair representation of women and other vulnerable groups in the public procurement sector.
She said the goal is to promote gender-responsive policies.
“We want an increase in the participation of women and minority groups in business to enhance equitable supplier selection and contractor,” she said.
Noting the crucial need for society to empower women and minority groups, Adigwe stated that this will boost the local economy, create employment opportunities and reduce the gender gap in economic and political participation of the minority group.
In her presentation on Maximising Digital Tools for Accountability, Dedeye Ebri urged participants to leverage the power of social media and other digital tools to hold institutions and government officials accountable on key projects and policies.
Jonathan Ebe also trained the participants on the use of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to access Information for project monitoring.
