Proactive Vigilance: How Citizens can hold their government accountable
Oludotun Babayemi
18 July 2016
“Abeg, you cannot come and fix a programme that will start at 8 am on a Saturday morning, I will not be able to attend, please postpone it for another day or cancel it” responded Ijiwere to her colleagues, who wanted to visit another friend; “Let me tell you, If you want me to come for that ‘owambe’ party on Saturday, then you should let it start at 10 am” affirmed Giringori, to his friends who were planning an event for Saturday.
“Imagine, those my friend wanted to suggest 8 am as a time for that party, I totally disagreed, and told them Jigida will be aired on radio at that time, and that is the only way I can report the lack of water in Kagara” said Giringori to his elder brother – Ijiwere.
These are the kind of conversations that go on in Kagara community, with everyone looking forward to Jigida, a weekly, one – hour radio programme that allows for citizens to call – in and express their community needs, which afterwards are been documented and sent to the various local government chairmen, and State House of Representative for response and decisions to be made. That’s not all, the first 30 mins of the programme is dedicated to the Councillor of the community sharing with the community, how much and what they will be spending on in the week. This is what proactive vigilance is all about!
Although proactive vigilance or public participation in budgeting or government spending is relatively new, the evidence attesting to its impact on resource allocation and service delivery is growing. Many of the existing findings are based on the well-known Brazilian experience with participatory budgeting, established first in Porte Alegre in 1989, and now replicated in over 40 countries around the world. Nigeria, is not left out as well, as its government hopes to encourage citizen participation, with its recent commitment to joining the Open Government Partnership, a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
You might be wondering, how many – landlord associations,vigilante groups, market women associations, community development associations, we have in rural communities. A lot of them! When are we going to start having “project vigilante” in rural communities, that will become voices of several communities, because by the time you wake up tomorrow morning, the news will be agog with “one billion dollars to be released to provide water in Kagara” only to go to Kagara after one year, you will find out that Kagara has no water source or a broken water source. Quite pathetic, and that’s is the way we are – the leaders and followers.
Nevertheless, I am excited that the Story Story writers at BBC Media Action are focusing on how citizens at the local government level, can be proactively vigilant on such issues of government spending in their communities, and I recently had some hours of session brainstorming with the crew, on how citizens can become vigilant themselves, I hope all will be reflected in their popular radio drama coming up sometimes in fall. Thanks to Nkem, our Reseach Lead on government finance, who took some notes on the highlights, and I have added them below:
Citizens can at every stage of this budget cycle engage their various government, but limited participation is expected during during formulation
- There is the local government or state government budget, a document that highlights government spending and revenue which can be for a financial year, or a multiyear.
- The Budget has its on cycle starting from formulation (when Ministry, Department, Agencies, put together their budget), to enactment (when the national or state legislative arm assent to the budget), to implementation (the stage at which contractors start executing projects in your communities), and lastly, the assessment stage (where everyone assesses the implementation of the budget, to provide feedback on how the next stage should look like)
- At every stage of the budget, citizens can make noise about their plight, and join in the conversation. They can form themselves as vigilante group or association, and always knock on the door of their local government officer or Councillor.
- They can forward a freedom of information request letter to the local government chairman to request for their budget immediately it passes the enactment stage, and even ask more question like who is the contractor, what is the work plan for the project, how much is the contractor getting, and when will the project be concluded. Here is an example of a freedom of information letter if you want to write one
- Government at the local government and state government level should starting providing platforms as well, for the assesement stage. E.g. using local radio programmes like Jigida, create a referendum mechanism for your local government area for people to have their say on projects proposed for next financial year. It should not be only during elections, that citizens see chairmen of local government or governors of states canvassing for votes.
- Like I always say, the budget is not only the means by which government declare their spending, in fact 50% – 60% of what’s on it might not be relevant. The other way is to always listen to the state news on your local radio, projects will be announced at all times, especially when they are project funded by other partners, such as the federal government or international donor agencies.
Ijiwere and Giringori have decided to do away with social gatherings, and focus on becoming a vigilante for community projects in Jigida, and if you are reading this, you should be towing same way, and you should share this piece. I look forward to the final drama series on this – If you have listened to Story Story, Voices from the Market program, then you should be more expectant. See you all in Kagara town, listening to Jigida on radio!
From left, Oludotun Babayemi, Nkem and the BBC Media Action Writers
What’s up, I log on to your blogs like every week.
Your story-telling style is witty, keep doing what you’re doing!
my homepage flax oil
Fine way of explaining, and nice piece of writing to get data concerning my presentation subject matter, which i am going to present in school.
my blog post – Bookmarks
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to
make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why
throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to
your site when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?
Also visit my web blog health benefits of cbd oil
GMB does not enable stock pictures for profile
pictures.
My site amb property management
It’s in point of fact a nice and useful piece of
info. I am happy that you just shared this
helpful information with us. Please keep us informed like this.
Thanks for sharing.
my website cbd pain killers health
Real wonderful information can be found on website.
Feel free to surf to my site … health benefits of essential oils
fantastic submit, ѵery informative. I pondser
why tһе otһеr experts of tһis sector don’t understznd tһiѕ.
You ѕhould continue yoᥙr writing. Ι’m sure,
you’ve а hug readers’ base аlready!
Everything is very open with a clear clarification of the challenges.
It was definitely informative. Your site is very helpful.
Thanks for sharing!
my website customer service
Fastidious answer back in return of this difficulty with solid arguments and describing all on the
topic of that.
My developer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from
PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs.
But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on various websites for about a
year and am nervous about switching to another platform.
I have heard very good things about blogengine.net.
Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it?
Any kind of help would be really appreciated!
My homepage: best online roulette
%%
Here is my web page gambler – Sterling –
It’s very trouble-free to find out any matter on web as
compared to textbooks, as I found this piece of writing at this
web site.
I’m amazed, I must say. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s
both educative and interesting, and let me tell you, you have
hit the nail on the head. The problem is something that not enough people are speaking intelligently about.
Now i’m very happy that I found this in my search for something regarding this.
2. MAX bonus diberikan RP. 5. Minimal Penarikan dana RP.
6. USER ID yang terindikasi melakukan manupulasi BONUS akan di BLOKIR
daripada pihak kita! 7. Bonus welcome depo Untuk seluruh permainan slot Shopeepay tanpa potongan
saja! 9. Keputusan SLOT99 ialah MUTLAK. 5. Bonus Rollingan yang di berikan dapat langsung di withdrawkan.
GMB does not enable stock photos for account pictures.
Feel free to visit my web page; item467444076
If you desire to take a good deal from this post then you
have to apply such techniques to your won blog.
My relatives always say that I am killing my time here
at net, except I know I am getting knowledge all
the time by reading thes fastidious articles.
I am really impressed together with your writing skills and also with the layout for your blog.
Is that this a paid topic or did you modify it your self?
Either way stay up the excellent quality writing, it’s rare to peer a nice weblog like this one today..
Here is my webpage seo melbourne fl
We stumbled over here by a different web address and thoughht I might as well check hings out.
I lioke what I see so i am just folllwing you. Look forward to going over your web page again.
대구밤문화
This site definitely has all the information I needed concerning this subject and didn?t
know who to ask.
Here is my blog post: item467724292
Great post! We will be linking to this particularly great content on our site.
Keep up the great writing.
Asking questions are really pleasant thing if you are not understanding something
entirely, but this post presents nice understanding yet.
This is a topic that’s near to my heart… Take care! Exactly where
are your contact details though?
Take a look at my homepage: Online Roulette Game
Hurrah, that’s what I was seeking for, what a information! present here at this web site, thanks admin of this website.
my blog: rubbish removal near me
Great article, just what I was looking for.
Here is my web-site – Cash Offer Please™
Это обеспечивает клиентам
персонализированный доступ и повышает результативность от посещения ресурса, позволяя нам наиболее эффективно оказывать услуги.
my site перейти на сайт (https://1win-sports.com)
Premium website development agency in Delhi. We are offering a top notch services at cheapest price. We have highly experts for web development in almost technologies.
And for good motive: It was gradual, it seemed totally different than marketed, there have been no USB ports with
no bulky adapter, the microSD reminiscence card slot wasn’t spring loaded,
so it was nearly unattainable to get the card out. Thus, in Slot Filling stage, we
additional label “耐克”(Nike) as Brand Property (B-Brand/I-Brand), and “黑色”(black)
as Color Property (B-Color/I-Color). Without an APX radio, some first responders
must carry a couple of radio, or rely on data from dispatchers earlier than proceeding with vital
response activities. The Craig Web site doesn’t present any info on retail areas
the place they are available for purchase (or
recommended retail costs, as we mentioned previously). The Maylong Web
site is maddeningly obscure at finest, and just plain inaccurate at worst.
Web site to let you see your train data — you will have to connect the detachable USB
thumb drive to a pc to sync the data it collects. For
extra info on chopping-edge merchandise, award some time to the links on the following web page.
That signifies that when disaster strikes, first
responders from a large variety of businesses can talk and
coordinate in actual time.
When you have concerns is that you can constantly obtain a second opinion, an effective tip to not forget.
Prior to making any major judgements, an additional viewpoint offers you a
wise idea.
Hello! This is my first visit to your blog! We are
a collection of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche.
Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. You have done a outstanding job!
Thanks so much with regard to giving me personally an update
on this issue on your web page. Please understand that if a completely
new post becomes available or in case any variations occur with
the current write-up, I would be thinking about reading more and finding out how
to make good using of those tactics you
discuss. Thanks for your time and consideration of other individuals by making your blog available.
Also visit my web-site: cbd fatty acids
Online poker
gmb management tool Reviews construct trust fund for your service.
What’s up, I read your blogs on a regular basis.
Your humoristic style is awesome, keep doing what you’re doing!
Feel free to surf to my page … cbd pain killers supplement
GMB Reviews build count on for your business.
Also visit my page :: item467441723
I regard something truly special in this site.
Feel free to surf to my web-site :: 7 Regal Casino
I do agree wіth alⅼ the concepts yoou һave introduced іn your post.
Ƭhey are гeally convincing ɑnd can ԁefinitely ѡork. Νonetheless, thｅ posts аrе toߋ quihk
foｒ beginners. Мay уou pⅼease extend thеm ɑ little fr᧐m
subsequent tіme? Τhanks for the post.
ขั้นตอนรวมทั้งวิธีการเล่น best online casino bonuses
บาคาร่าออนไลน์ สามารถเริ่มเล่นได้อย่างง่ายดาย หลังจากที่ลงทะเบียนเป็นสมาชิกแล้ว สามารถนำรหัสที่ได้กระทำการลงทะเบียนสมัครสมาชิกไว้ สำหรับท่านที่เป็นมือใหม่ ทำตามขั้นตอนข้างล่างนี้ก็เริ่มเล่นได้เลย
• กรอกรหัสผู้ใช้งาน และรหัสผ่านที่ท่านได้กรอกเอาไว้ในขั้นตอนของการสมัครสมาชิก
• กดที่ปุ่มเข้าสู่เกมที่อยู่ด้านล่างของหน้าจอ
• คลิกที่ปุ่ม คาสิโนออนไลน์ หลังจากนั้นเลือกค่ายเกมบาคาร่าออนไลน์ ที่ท่านต้องการเล่น
• เลือกโต๊ะที่ท่านต้องการลงเข้าไปเล่น แล้วต่อจากนั้นสามารถเลือก
• ท่านสามารถปรับยอดพนันได้ที่ส่วนที่เป็นรูปชิป
ในขณะนี้ สูตรบาคาร่า เป็นที่ชื่นชอบอย่างแพร่หลายในโลกอินเตอร์เน็ต พวกเราจะพบเห็นได้บ่อยใน
Facebook หรือกลุ่มนำเล่นต่างๆแต่จริงๆแล้ว ตัวสูตรคำนวนนั้นเขียนขึ้นมาเพื่อจุดประสงค์สำหรับการดึงดูดให้คนเข้ามาเล่นกับเว็บไซต์บาคาร่านั้นๆตัวสูตรบาคาร่าฟรีนั้นมิได้ช่วยให้ท่านเล่นได้เงินจริงๆถูกเขียนโดยนักเขียนโปรแกรมและก็ได้ผลออกสุ่มมาครึ่งๆแนะนำให้แด่ท่านเล่นด้วยความมีสติสัมปชัญญะ ใช้ดวงแล้วก็วิจารณญาณของท่านเล่นจะเยี่ยมที่สุด
การเล่นไพ่บาคาร่า ทำความเข้าใจได้ง่าย เนื่องจากมีลักษณะการนับแต้มแล้วก็การเล่นแบบไพ่ป๊อกเด้ง
ถ้าใครกันแน่เคยเล่นป็อกกระเด้งมาบ้าง ก็จะสามารถเล่น บาคาร่า ได้แบบไม่ยากเย็นเลย บาคาร่าจะให้ท่านได้ลงพนัน Banker (เจ้ามือ) ถูกแทนด้วยสีแดง รวมทั้ง Player
(ผู้เล่น) ถูกแทนด้วยสีน้ำเงิน แต่ยังมีรูปแบบการพนันอื่นๆให้ได้เลือกลงเล่นอีก ไม่ว่าจะเป็น
Tie (เสมอ) หรือแทง ไพ่คู่
Fine way of explaining, and nice post to get information regarding my presentation topic, which i am going to convey in institution of higher education.
Here is my web page – posh bingo
Rattling wonderful information can be found on website.
Visit my web-site :: Bookmarks
Does your site have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating it but, I’d like to send you an e-mail.
I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you
might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and
I look forward to seeing it develop over time.
It’s remarkable to buy now pay later furniture a visit this site and
reading the views of all mates about this paragraph, while I am also zealous of getting
experience.
Attractive component of content. I just
stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to
claim that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your weblog posts.
Anyway I will be subscribing on your augment and
even I fulfillment you get right of entry to constantly rapidly.
my webpage แหล่งความรู้ออนไลน์
Hmm it appears like your blog ate my first comment
(it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum
it up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to the whole thing.
Do you have any tips for newbie blog writers? I’d definitely appreciate it.
I’m аmazed, І mhѕt say. Raгdly do I cоme across a blog that’s both equally eduϲative and amusing, and without a
doսbt, you have hit the nail on the heɑd.
The problem iis something thɑt too few men аnd women are
speaking intelligently about. Now i’m very happy
that I came across this during my seɑrcһ for something relating to this.
I like this site so much, saved to my bookmarks.
My webpage: fun casino
I have been exploring for a little bit for
any high quality articles or weblog posts on this sort
of area . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this website.
Studying this information So i am happy to express that I’ve a very excellent uncanny feeling
I discovered just what I needed. I so much indisputably will make certain to don?t disregard this website and provides it a look on a relentless basis.
my blog post: best casino bonus
gmb wealth management does not permit supply photos for account pictures.
buy now pay later catalogs I am going to do my breakfast, later
than having my breakfast coming yet again to read further news.