Stakeholders at a virtual event to commemorate Open Government Partnership (OGP) ten years of existence in Kaduna state has called for the review of Kaduna State Fiscal Responsibility Commission law to enable it prosecute violators
The stakeholders agreed that the review of the law will enable the Commission to carry out effective enforcement, saying a review of the law is currently going on at the national level and that of Kaduna state will also align with it particularly in the area of enforcement.
The Communique signed by Mr Yusuf Goje Of Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment and Development (CALPED) stated that more recent approaches have emphasized the need to ensure ‘Value for Money’ (VFM) management and control strategies to ensure that public funds are controlled in such a way as to maximize the benefit to the Government and the public, and that expenditure controls are not unduly expensive to administer
The stakeholders identified the citizens, civil society, media, development partners, parliament, judiciary, law enforcement agencies, civil servants, public servants, government agencies, trade associations and any interested party.
“As stakeholders, these parties have roles to play individually and collectively in achieving or upholding the tenets which will guarantee fiscal transparency and responsibility”
In his remarks, Chairman state Fiscal Responsibility Commission Murtala Dabo pledged to work with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to promote fiscal transparency and accountability in the state.
Dabo said fiscal transparency was all about the disclosure of all the assets and liabilities of the public sector, as well as revenues and expenditures approved in the annual budget.
According to him, fiscal transparency also refers to the involvement of citizens in fiscal policy design and decision making.
He said that the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 provided for the prudent management of the nation’s resources.
This, he said, was to ensure long term macro-economic stability of the national economy, secure greater accountability and transparency in fiscal operations within a medium term.
Dabo said that the commission has developed its work plan for 2022 to ensure it carried out its mandate effectively despite funding constraints.
Similarly, Mr Abel Adejor, State Team Facilitator, Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn, said that the state government has signed on to the OGP since 2016 to promote fiscal responsibility, access to information and citizens’ engagement.
Adejor noted that a reasonable number of public servants still do not understand the principle of OGP and the State Action Plan.
He stressed the need to sensitise relevant heads of MDAs about OGP and involve more citizens’ groups such as the Community Development Champions in monitoring government projects.
Also, Mr Austin Ashio, OGP Point of Contact, Planning and Budget Commission said that the OGP Secretariat, in partnership with CSOs, would ensure the institutionalisation of the Community Development Charter (CDC) and budget town hall meetings.
Ashio also said that efforts were ongoing to review the State Budget Guidelines to ensure that CDC fosters robust public participation.
The Citizen’s Co-Chair, OGP, Mrs Hadiza Umar, also said that the OGP was working to boost advocacy and sensitisation of civil society and government actors at all levels of the OGP State Action Plan.
She urged the civil society actors, not to only demand for increased civic space, but also to ensure they take advantage of existing space to participate in ongoing OGP reforms under the five commitment areas.
Earlier, Mr Yusuf Goje of CALPED, said that the objective of the meeting with theme” Strengthening Civic Space and Public Participation in the Budget Process in Kaduna State”. Said it was meant to provide a local perspective to the ongoing conversation on the 2021 OGP Global Summit, which was held between Dec. 15 and
