In a bid to provide African citizens with access to evidence on COVID resources, leading social accountability initiatives, Follow The Money and BudgIT, with learning partners Global Integrity, have launched a comprehensive user-friendly COVID-19 Fund Africa website as part of the COVID-19 Transparency & Accountability Project (CTAP).

The COVID Africa Tracking website has flexible navigation and functionality that allows visitors to access all data on COVID in Africa, including intervention resources, funds allocations, palliative distributions, accurate number of cases, data on COVID funds, vaccine management and government’s responsiveness.

“Our primary goal for designing the website is to improve citizens’ use of data for advocacy and government engagement in a manner that promotes transparency, accountability and open governance,” Follow The Money Founder, Hamzat Lawal, said.

The website currently displays information on $51.05B resources committed to COVID-19 across Africa, $5.08B In-Kind Donation as well as over 2,532 COVID Datasets across Africa. Published resources featured on the website analyse post-COVID economic environment and its impact on marginalized communities.

“In tracking government’s level of responsiveness,  we have shown, through data on the CTAP website, overarching issues such as discrepancies in palliatives and cash transfer distributions, substandard healthcare compounded by the pandemic, disintegration of COVID data, vague procurement processes and blatant corruption by government officials.” BudgIT’s Chief Executive, Gabriel Okeowo added.

The COVID tracking site also featured COVID analysis and research resources for seven focus countries: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cameroon and Nigeria. It highlights COVID status in these countries and also features knowledge centres on human angle stories curated from citizens across the countries. Built with a focus on user’s experience, the one-stop website (https://www.covidfund.africa/) has some of these attributes;

• Live Updates on COVID data on a daily basis from all over Africa.
• Data Display to provide face-level information on the total number of COVID fund allocation to Africa and COVID cases.
• Resource Filters which allows citizens to easily narrow down to the country or specific resource portfolio by clicking the African country they would like data on.
• Research and Papers on COVID tracking and government’s responsiveness in Africa.
• Rapid Response Functionality allowing the site to be compatible with all browsers and mobile devices.

Under CTAP, the 3 CSOs seek to advocate and collaborate with governments in Africa to provide and institute proper accountability measures for all financial and material donations received. Since it kicked off 8 months ago, the project has inspired increased citizen engagement with issues of government’s transparency and accountability and  a zero-tolerance for corruption in some countries. A case in point is the termination of public officials in Liberia for the misappropriation of COVID funds.

Overarching insights;

1. Weak transparency and poor government accountability impede the implementation of standard policies. This is evident in the inability of social accountability activists to access accurate data of funds received and disbursed by their government to tackle the pandemic.
2. Citizens’ apathy as a result of distrust in government. Citizen participation could have augmented the impact of certain relief packages such as the food packages which could have targeted the most vulnerable in society, including women, the disabled and the aged. Several sources at the local assembly level revealed to the CTAP team that the very poorest in their communities did not benefit from initiatives that were broadly distributed.
3. As a result of leveraging the media to amplify discoveries of misappropriations, embezzlements, and lack of preparedness by the government and institutions, there was an increased response to citizens’ demands for accountability.

In view of these highlights, the CSOs urge citizens to utilise the new COVIDAfrica platform to access data that they need to engage with their governments.

“We believe this is also an opportunity for African governments to improve communication with citizens and adopt progressive governance mechanisms in advancing transparency and accountability and regaining citizens’ trust”, Onigbinde added.

Social Accountability CSOs in these countries are aligning in their mission to hold their respective governments to account, mobilize citizens for social change, counter fake news and misinformation while using digital tools to engage with government accountability issues.

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Footnotes:

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Top findings from 7 African Countries;

Liberia

1. The research conducted in Margibi County on the stimulus package for private schools’ teachers revealed  that only 15% of teachers in the private schools received their shares of the $1 million, while 85% of the participants did not receive their shares of the $1 million budgetary allocation for private schools’ teachers in the 2020/2021 national budget.
2. The emergency standard operating procedure under sub-section seven (7) states that COVID-19 funds should be operated in dual currency and a separate bank account either at the central bank or commercial and will be managed under six (6) signatories from MOH & NPHIL Office. However, we observed that COVID-19 funds totaling USD750, 000 and a cash donation of USD246, 300 has been mixed up with the Ministry of Health’s operation account at the Central Bank of Liberia.

Nigeria:

1. Conditions of primary healthcare centres have further deteriorated during the pandemic. In a recent research conducted by the CTAP team in fifteen states, a significant number of PHCs fall below the minimum PHC standard set by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), with their grossly dilapidated infrastructure, poor and inadequate staffing, and incapacity to administer vaccines.
2. Corruption in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) that involved allocation of funds to combat COVID dated before COVID-19 happened.

Kenya

1. The Auditor General’s special report on Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA), revealed that, the following procurement procedures and processes were violated:
2. Utilization of unbudgeted funds- according to the special report, Ksh.4.66 billion was allocated for Universal Health coverage (UHC) when actual cost should have been Ksh.2.9 billion.

• The Ministry of Health (MoH) allocated KEMSA Ksh. 13.04 billion and the actual expenditure amounted to Ksh.8.52 billion. However, the special audit report notes conflicting information as National treasury notes that Ksh.4.82 billion to MoH for Covid-19 related expenditure at KEMSA.

Cameroon

1. The FCFA 180 billion (US$335.24 million) granted to the National Solidarity Fund and the additional contributions, donations and financial gifts received by the Government are clouded by a hail of corruption allegations, as the health sector struggles to keep workers motivated and secure, and to grant access to COVID 19 related services to the public.
2. The government has not carried out any formal audits and there are no open contracting platforms. Access to information remains a challenge. In terms of overarching transparency architecture in Cameroon, the existence and use of military ordinances and decrees in administering funds casts a cloud of opacity and works to suppress public opinion formation on accountability

Sierra Leone

1. The Ministry of Health and Sanitation officials expended Le5.22m ($475), allocated for COVID-19 response on the procurement of personal gadgets such as Apple airpods, JBL Bluetooth Speakers and Headsets.
2. During the Audit exercise, we observed that Le2.1bn ($191,414 ) was paid to an unidentified NaCOVERC Staff/Consultants. Further, procurement carried out by some MDAs were not only highly inflated, but also awarded to middlemen who know nothing about the goods and services.

Ghana

1. Irregularities in the procurement of antigen testing kits which cost $150 per kit, to be conducted at the Kotoka International Airport. The contract between the Ghana Airport Company and Frontier Health Service stipulated that an amount of $10 would be paid to the former with the latter taking $140. This constituted an uncannily lucrative deal for the testing company especially since the company was incorporated just days before the contract was awarded and had not registered with the PPA. Furthermore, some state agencies were bypassed in the awarding of the contract.

Malawi

1. Lack of preparedness by the Department of Disaster Management affairs in the way they disbursed funds without proper orientation of controlling officers. The Malawian experience seems to have a core problem of not just transparency and accountability but also prioritisation and management, despite the existence of the procedures in writing.
2. Despite allocation of huge sums of money through the Ministry of Education and District Councils, there was less to show as to what the funds have been used for. The Malawian CTAP research documented evidence that COVID-19 funds were “marred by incidences of abuse, maladministration, fraud and misplaced priorities.

Ani, Nwachukwu Agwu

President Buhari could leave a disreputable legacy if he does not assent to the Federal Audit Service Commission Bill (FASCB)

Perhaps, because President Buhari is a retired General, many Nigerians see him as a strongman. He was a Brigade Major at the 3rd Infantry Brigade in Nsukka during the Nigerian-Biafra war. Later on, in 1983, he plotted a successful coup d’état that aborted Nigeria’s Second Republic on claims of widespread corruption. Of course, coups begets coups. General Buhari was later toppled. Today, he is a politician, an elected president,  a “democrat”.

Being careful of his new image, the president is uncertain of how he will be remembered after his tenure. He wants to be treated fairly and kindly by history, Nigerians and indeed humankind. Having won elections in 2015 and 2019, he knows that being remembered as a military dictator is no longer fashionable. Could he successfully erase his past as a coupist that overthrew an elected government.

It is no news that political leaders want good legacies after active service. They want to be reckoned with as builders and statesmen who provided public services and listened to the people. But this is not the norm in Nigeria’s political sphere. Otherwise, why are they not uplifting lives, creating wealth and respecting the social contract as obtainable in advanced democracies?  Instead, many of them promote political vulgarity; corruption, mistrust and poverty. If politicians passionately care about what legacies they would leave behind, they would govern differently. But good legacies aren’t cheap.

World history teaches us that when President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented himself for election in the middle of the great depression, he knew the challenges, risks and opportunities but he dared. With time,  he succeeded – becoming the 32nd President (1933-1945) of the USA. Against the odds in this era, President Roosevelt helped Americans regain faith in themselves and their systems by defeating the great depression – the worst economic crisis in America’s history. Also, he famously “ended” World War II.

Back to President Buhari. In Nigeria, our dilemma is corruption – how to end public theft. In 2015 when the President presented his tripodal agenda: Reducing Insecurity, Fighting Corruption and Economic Diversification; upon which he defeated an incumbent president, Nigerians believed him and gave him the constitutional mandate. As such, President Buhari’s legacy would be judged by the tripodal agenda, especially “Fighting Corruption”.

Nigerians would remember him for his anti-corruption policies and positions, including his action or inaction to implement the Federal Audit Service Commission Bill (FASCB). The bill was passed by the National Assembly (House of Representatives – April 2016 and Senate – May 2019) and transmitted to him for assent. Since then, the President has neither assented (signed it into law) nor declined assent. The President’s silence on FASCB is worrisome because corruption continues to rob Nigerians of opportunities to live prosperous lives.

Historically, before the military intervention of 1967, the Audit Ordinance of 1956 was the statutory instrument empowering the Audit Office to discharge its mandate. At the time, the Audit Office had fewer encumbrances and discharged its responsibilities effectively and efficiently. Military interventionists changed the landscape of audit administration by abolishing the National Assembly that houses the Public Accounts Committee in democratic administrations.

In the second republic (1979 to 1983), appreciable progress was made through the 1979 Constitution to re-engineer and re-position audit administration in the country. The 1979 constitution gave the Audit Office extensive powers to audit all public funds and public institutions without exception. For example, section 79(2) of the 1979 constitution states inter alia: “The public accounts of the Federation and all offices, courts and authorities of the Federation, including all persons and bodies established by law entrusted with the collection and administration of public money and assets, shall be audited and reported on by the Auditor-General”.

Sadly, the coup of 1983 led by the General Buhari-Idiagbon regime brought a serious setback to the Audit Office and audit administration. In the Buhari-Idiagbon regime, the powers of the Auditor-General were watered down with the promulgation of Decree 17 of 1985 that prevented full audit coverage of public funds and institutions. Without doubts, this provision that exempts some agencies from the scrutiny of the Auditor-General is an impediment to effective public audit administration in Nigeria.

Since the fourth republic (from 2001 till date), the National Assembly has spent huge resources – material and otherwise, to amend Nigeria’s audit law, but none of these efforts has been successfully done. The failure of successive administrations to amend or enact a modern audit law to complement the provisions of the 1999 Constitution is a major impediment to the effective management of public funds. 

Nonetheless, President Buhari has a window to right his past wrongs. He should exploit the renewed agitations by Nigerians and civil society led by Connected Development (CODE) under its Money Trail Project to append his signature to the Federal Audit Service Commission Bill (FASCB) and give the commission all required political backings to subject all government agencies to yearly audit processes, scrutiny and accountability. There is no better way to fight corruption than instituting process-led anti-corruption policies or laws and giving teeth to the laws.

For three reasons, President Buhari has a moral burden to sign the FASCB. First, it will largely influence how he will be remembered. Two, a new audit law will redeem and repair his infamous role in the past when he enacted Decree 17 of 1985 which effectively withdrew the power of the Auditor General to audit statutory agencies, commissions, established by law.  The third reason is the institutionalisation of the rule of law in resource/fiscal governance – that no government agency can afford fiscal recklessness and go scot free. The ball is in his court!

Like President Roosevelt, Buhari should help Nigerians regain faith in themselves and their systems especially in this era of pervasive depreciation of trust in public institutions – ministries, departments and agencies. For this to happen, the Federal Audit Service Commission Bill (FASCB) should be signed into law without further delay or complacency. This is one way President Buhari will be remembered!

Author: Ani, Nwachukwu Agwu: Mr Ani writes from Enugu. He’s a doctoral candidate at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), University of Nigeria. He can be reached via his email: nwachukwu@gmail.com.

CODE is pleased to celebrate the appointment of its Senior Legal Adviser, Nnanna Oketa Esq. as a member of the newly established Corporate Counsel Forum of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), alongside Seye Kosoko, the Company Secretary of FBN Holdings PLC, as the Chairman.

Beyond advising the Board and CEO on regulatory frameworks, statutory requirements and compliance, policies and internal control systems, Nnanna Esq., is also the In-House Counsel (Deputy Manager – Special Projects) of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) where he offers and applies his legal expertise on Legal and Regulatory Advisory on Projects and Infrastructure, Securitisation and Corporate Finance, Gas and Power Resale Contracts, including Cross-Border Sale of Power.

In addition, we commend the NBA President, Olumide Akpata Esq., for driving a united, progressive, courageous and citizen-centric Bar, and for the recent establishment of a Lawyers With Disabilities Forum to effectively advocate for issues concerning Lawyers with disabilities, appointment of young lawyers into several fora and committees, and the creation and appointment of young lawyers as permanent observers at the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NBA.

We are in no doubt that Nnanna Esq. will continue to leverage his decade-long multi-sectoral experience in corporate legal advisory to bring invaluable contributions to the development of this new Forum as they drive issues concerning corporate counsels and governance. 

Once again, a heartfelt Congratulations to you, Nnanna Esq. from the CODE family and we wish you greater and exciting feats in the future.

Infographics: Eighty Percent of PHCs in 15 States Do Not Meet NPHCDA Standard, Unfit for COVID19 Vaccination — CODE

As Nigeria continues to battle COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 166,730 cases and 2,117 deaths already recorded, only 20 percent of the Primary Health Care Centres in fifteen states are functional, research investigations and tracking conducted by leading Civil Society Organisation, CODE has revealed.

Nigeria’s health sector has struggled to meet up with modern standards in terms of quality, efficiency, and accessibility to its vast population. With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the wide devastating gaps in the health system became more pronounced, as citizens at rural and semi-urban communities particularly grappled with poor healthcare amidst a pandemic.

In March 2021, Nigeria received 3.92 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, the first trench of the expected 16 million doses, according to an announcement made by the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib.

Concerned by the condition of the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) where average citizens receive treatment, and where COVID vaccines would be stored and administered, CODE through its social accountability initiative, Follow The Money, commenced tracking the distribution of these vaccines and assessed the preparedness as well as the quality of Primary Healthcare Centres across the country to receive and administer the vaccines at the community level.

This research was birthed as part of the objectives of the COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability project supported by Conrad Hilton Foundation and Skoll Foundation, currently being implemented by Follow The Money, BudgIT Foundation and Global Integrity across 7 African countries to assess government’s transparency & accountability in the management of COVID intervention funds and support to citizens.

Follow The Money champions in 15 states – Cross River, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, Abia, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kebbi, Osun – across the 6 geopolitical zones of Nigeria, assessed the readiness of 90 PHCs to receive, store and effectively administer vaccines with the purpose to equally drive quality standardisation of PHCs in Nigeria.

Download the full report.

State-of-PHC-in-Nigeria

CODE and OXFAM are implementing a project on the Power of Voices Partnership (PVP) fair for All project within 6 extractive states- Delta, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers and FCT. The project seeks to build capacity and raise awareness on the socio-economic costs associated with the Nigerian extractives sector.

PVP will focused on advocating for improved governance in the sector to ensure that corporations operate in human rights and conflict-sensitive demeanour. This project seeks to address by building new structures and strengthening existing ones to achieve sustained efforts and interventions across communities, the private sector and the government. Influence policy debates and other initiatives to ensure sustained and judicious management of tax revenue, other revenues within the extractive sector while promoting accountability.

The Power of Voices Partnership (PVP)- Fair for All (F4A) program, therefore, shall be used to amplify civic education and advocacies to promote:

1. Prudent management of natural resources (oil and gas)
2. Participatory budget
3. Fiscal transparency
4. Fair natural resources governance
5. Economic literacy
6. Fair taxation that energizes voice(s) of socially oppressed and marginalized segments of society, particularly, women, through:
7. Gender justice.

Other programmatic propositions are;

1. Fiscal inclusion through participatory needs assessment (community and shadow budgeting),
2. Tracking of expenditures (public procurement) mobilizing for fair taxation and participatory democratic rights and empowerment through (collective) voices. 

Through PVP, CODE will strengthen community voices and increase awareness on the socio-economic costs of challenges within the Nigerian extractives sector pertaining to the marginalisation of host communities. It will also advocate improved corporate governance in operations and the management of human rights in these communities.
 
One of the objectives of the project is to promote transparency and efficient management of State budgets for the extractive sector. 

To achieve the project objectives our team will strengthen the capacity of local organizations and citizens to increase the level of accountability of public actors within the extractive sectors. The project also seeks to raise awareness within the civic space, schools and the public through outreaches and followthemoney radio.

The United Nations has granted CODE special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. The Non-Governmental Organizations Committee made the selection as a continuation of its 2021 regular session.  CODE was one of 65 organizations granted general and special status to attend meetings of the Council and issue statements.

The consultative status provides NGOs with access to not only ECOSOC, but also to its many subsidiary bodies, to the various human rights mechanisms of the United Nations, ad-hoc processes on small arms, as well as special events organized by the President of the General Assembly. 

Having fulfilled the requirements proffered by the 19-member Committee, CODE is excited to begin attending exclusive meetings of the council. According to the Chief Executive, Hamzat Lawal, “CODE’s selection offers the opportunity for partnership to advance sustainable development in Nigeria.”

The United Nations Economic and Social Council as a meeting point for partnership to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. Now in its 75th year, it is regarded as “the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals.”

CODE Holds Management Retreat to Enhance Corporate Vision

During its management retreat, CODE made deliberations and endorsed new policies to improve its internal structures and strengthen corporate vision.

The exercise, which held on Friday, May 21, 2021 during a four-day management and trustees meeting also witnessed the amendment and ratification of other relevant policies to realign with the mission of the organisation.

The assessment was conducted by the Lagos Business School (LBS), scrutinised the organisational structure including the relationship between the management and board members and reviewed corporate governance gaps and financial crisis that rocked the organisation in 2019, coupled with the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that shutdown many socio-economic activity globally in 2020.

Papers were presented on the state and strategic plan of the organisation as well as the 21^st century role of non-profit board of trustees and management towards organisational efficiency, productivity and social impact.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CODE, Hamzat Lawal, while shedding light on some of these challenges that made his corporation to adopt the new policy, said the report revealed that there was need to reposition the corporate outlook of his establishment. “As much as we were excited about our work and we thought everything was fine,” Lawal said, “but that assessment and some of its key findings showed that we needed to fix some things if we have to scale-up and grow in our next phase.”

The group’s helmsman disclosed that the summit was organised to bring the management staffs and board members together to bond and brainstorm on how best to direct affairs of the organisation. He told the participants that the many setbacks that CODE faced in the past few years actually fortified and took the organisation to its current height of success and fulfilment.

“In 2019,” according to him, “we encountered serious governance issues and at that time for us we thought that would have been the end of our organisation because we were not operating with best practices.”

However, he clarified that with support from the LBS and commitment from board members who worked tirelessly in reshaping the organisational corporate policies, CODE was able to come back stronger with one of the best financial systems across the continent.

Acting chairman of the organisation, Anthony Agbor, while giving his remarks at the event, thanked the participants for their loyalty and commitment in engaging grass roots communities especially during the COVID-19 saga that almost crippled all human activities.

He urged the team to maintain its focus knowing that the future of Nigeria and the continent rest on the activities of the organisation. “We should not relent in our commitment to reach out to the grass roots and empower them to see reasons to rebuild the focus of this country and get us back on the part of glory,” Agbor submitted.

FollowTheMoney and BudgIT are tracking COVID funds and ensuring transparency & accountability in 7 African countries.

CTAP_Factsheet

Follow The Money is strategically decentralizing its operational structures to allow zonal champions to own the vision and encourage massive volunteer recruitment at the community level. To achieve this, the management of CODE organized a one day “zonal convening” for its FTM state leads in the 6 geo-political zones in Nigeria.

The sessions were designed to review challenges of lack of access to information and other issues that are peculiar to each region, compile success stories and develop strategic plans. These are efforts to strengthen the capacity of regional/state leads and FTM champions to be able to drive the vision of the initiative and achieve needed results with focus on FTM’s Theory of Change. 

The Capacity-building session with CODE’s Community Engagement Director, Busayo Morakinyo, set the tone for understanding CODE’s value and service delivery to her constituencies. “One of the goals of the organization is to strengthen the capacity of her state and local champions and help them grow to be able to demand transparency and accountability from the government.” Mr Morakinyo also emphasised the importance of participatory community mobilization and facilitating information sharing through community champions.

Topics on government data-mining, budget reviews and policy formulations were also discussed. The need for strong collaboration and partnership with community-based associations, youth groups, and community leaders using advocacy, to strengthen community engagement.

Participants also learnt about funding, idea generation, using social media as an advocacy tool to drive change and mobilising citizens.

Budget Ministry Pegs Kaduna Constituency Projects at N6Bn, to Partner Follow The Money on Tracking Government Projects

The Ministry of Budget & National Planning has agreed to partner with leading social accountability initiative, Follow The Money on open government partnership in relation to constituency projects in Kaduna valued at N6bn in the 2020 and 2021 budgets.

The Honourable Minister of Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, who is also co-chair of the Open Government Partnership, while receiving Follow The Money activists in his office, stated that the Ministry was receptive to working with accountability partners to track the effectiveness of project implementation at State and local levels where OGP can further be enhanced within grassroots communities.

CODE’s Programs Associate, Kingsley Agu, who led the team revealed that through a campaign to deepen citizens interest in government’s spendings and address accompanying corrupt practices, CODE in collaboration with MacArthur Foundation was setting the pace to initiate reforms that will promote government’s transparency, accountability and citizens’ participation in government budgeting system.

“CODE seeks to partner with the Ministry of Budget & National Planning to further enhance service delivery and infrastructural development for grassroots communities particularly, through budget information-sharing and providing data on constituency projects. Through this, the Community Monitoring Teams can ensure projects are effectively completed.”

Agu added that collaboration with the Ministry was a strategic move to collectively combat corruption, illicit financial flows and track to completion, development projects in rural areas so people can have access to potable drinking water, standard healthcare and even primary education.

Assuring to partner with CODE, the Honourable Minister revealed that “The Eye Mark App”, a web and mobile-based application with geo-meta tags that is secured and easily accessible will be launched by the ministry to enable citizens update information about community projects in real-time, with the inclusion of photos to show current status of the project. 

CODE has now urged the release of budget details to enable citizens track public projects effectively. The Organisation is committed to supporting government initiatives that provide the dividends of democracy to improve the lives of the people whom the government serves.

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Editor’s Note: 

About DeSPAAC Campaign: The Deepening Citizens’ Interest in Government Spending and addressing Accompanying Corrupt Practices is a campaign implemented by CODE’s Follow The Money initiative with support from MacArthur Foundation to enhance citizens participation in demanding improved service delivery and track government’s project implementation in Kaduna State. 

The three-year project will also leverage FTM’s proven track record/ expertise in community empowerment and engagement to empower community governance structures namely community monitoring teams (CMTs) and Follow The Money Champions to identify and effectively provide oversight on social projects including the implementation of constituency projects.