An NGO, Follow Taxes says Kaduna State Government has published 723 projects worth N63.6 billion it executed between 2016 and 2020 for Nigerians to track and monitor.
The NGO’s Lead, Dr Saied Tafida made this known in Kaduna at a one-day Open Contracting Data Performance Award, organised by Follow Taxes as part of activities to mark the 2021 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Week.
Tafida said that data from the state Open Contracting Portal shows that N1.0 billion worth of contracts were published in 2016, while N32 billion was published in 2017.
He added that N6.0 billion worth of contracts were published in 2018 out of the N62 billon allocated for capital projects in the year.
He also said that N24 billion worth of contracts were published in 2019 out of the N79.6 billion allocated for capital projects.
Tafida, however, said that only N25.9 million worth of contracts were published in 2020, while no projects was published in 2021.
“Although, the performance was low when compared to the total projects executed in the last five years, we nonetheless commended the state government for making those projects public for citizens to tract and monitor.
“Kaduna state has committed to publish its procurements information using the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) to make them accessible to citizens within and outside the state.
“We, therefore, appeal to the state government to do more in strengthening transparency and accountability in the delivery of public projects in the state in line with the principle of OGP.
“The citizens must also live up to the responsibility of tracking and monitoring where and how public funds were being utilised in the delivery of projects and services,’’ he said.
On performance of the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), Tafida said that the Kaduna State Facilities Management Agency (KADFAM) came first with a total of 145 projects published.
He said that KADFAMA published more projects than the Ministries of Works, Health and Education, the service delivery areas that citizens were more interested in.
According to him, Kaduna State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency came last with only one project published within the period under review.
He identified Tudun Nupawa in Kaduna South Local Government Area of the State as the community with the highest number of complaints to relevant MDAs on projects execution in their area.
Tafida said that KADFAMA and its procurement officer, and the Tudun Nupawa community would be rewarded for their efforts in ensuring transparent and accountable delivery of projects.
“Plans have also been concluded for continuous training of government officials on how to upload projects and how citizens will continue to engage the processes using available platforms,’’ he said.
Mrs Jummai Bako, Director, Monitoring and Evaluation, Planning and Budget Commission, said that efforts were being made to improve feedback in all complaints platforms to encourage citizens to continue to track execution of projects.
Also speaking, Mr Kashim Usman, Internal Auditor, KADFAMA, thanked Follow Taxes for the recognition and promised to do more in making procurement information public.
Similarly, Mr Aliyu Abubakar, Secretary- General, Tudun Nupawa Youth Council, said that they were motivated to write series of complaints on the execution of projects in their community because they were left behind in terms of development.
“We have resolved to continue tracking and monitoring the implementation of projects in our community to ensure timely and quality delivery. This is the only way we will catch up with other communities,’’ he said. (NAN)
