Proactive Vigilance: How Citizens can hold their government accountable
Oludotun Babayemi
July 18, 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
Thanks for finally writing about > Proactive Vigilance: How Citizens can hold their
government accountable comprehensive insurance
My developer is trying to convince 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 Movable-type on various websites for
about a year and am worried about switching to another platform.
I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net. Is there a
way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it? Any help would
be greatly appreciated!
Estate Preparation Attorney.
Feel free to surf to my web site … item470993635
This post is really a nice one it assists new
web visitors, who are wishing in favor of blogging.
My website – tuscaloosa insurance company
After I initially commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from
now on each time a comment is added I receive 4 emails with
the exact same comment. There has to be an easy method you are
able to remove me from that service? Thanks a lot!
Here is my site :: comprehensive insurance
I?m impressed, I must say. Rarely do I encounter
a blog that?s both equally educative and interesting, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the head.
The problem is something that not enough men and
women are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy that I came across this in my search for something concerning this.
Also visit my blog :: send sms from pc
I don’t know whether it’s just me or if everyone else
experiencing problems with your blog. It appears like some of the written text in your content are
running off the screen. Can somebody else please provide feedback and let me know
if this is happening to them too? This might be a issue with my internet browser
because I’ve had this happen previously. Cheers
Also visit my web page: bulk sms gateway
Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful post. Thank you for supplying these details.
Here is my website – aplikasi
I?m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I come across a blog that?s both equally
educative and entertaining, and without a doubt, you’ve hit the nail on the head.
The problem is something not enough men and women are speaking intelligently about.
I am very happy that I came across this in my hunt for something regarding this.
My page mobile phone deals
Hi there, its good post regarding media print, we all be
aware of media is a impressive source of information.
Also visit my web blog; home insurance in tuscaloosa
Useful information. Lucky me I discovered your site by accident, and I’m surprised why this accident
did not came about in advance! I bookmarked it.
my blog post; October printable calendar
Hello! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my
blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not
seeing very good results. If you know of any please share.
Cheers!
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my web site so i came to “return the favor”.I’m trying to find things to improve my website!I
suppose its ok to use a few of your ideas!!
This web site truly has all of the information and facts I
wanted about this subject and didn’t know who
to ask.
It is truly a nice and useful piece of info. I’m happy that you just shared this useful
info with us. Please keep us informed like this.
Thank you for sharing.
My homepage :: home insurance
Truly when someone doesn’t be aware of then its up to other visitors that
they will assist, so here it happens.
Check out my site … aplikasi
Howdy! This article couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this
post reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept talking about this.
I most certainly will forward this post to him.
Pretty sure he’ll have a great read. I appreciate you
for sharing!
my webpage … aplikasi
I?m impressed, I must say. Rarely do I come across a
blog that?s both educative and engaging, and without a doubt, you’ve
hit the nail on the head. The problem is something too few folks are speaking
intelligently about. I’m very happy that I stumbled across this in my hunt for something concerning this.
Feel free to visit my web page :: Social events
I have read so many articles regarding the blogger lovers except this post is truly a
fastidious paragraph, keep it up.
A person necessarily help to make critically posts I’d state.
This is the very first time I frequented your web page
and thus far? I surprised with the analysis you made to
make this actual publish extraordinary. Fantastic job!
My blog :: item470515849
Very soon this web page will be famous among all blogging viewers, due to it’s nice articles or reviews
Feel free to surf to my web-site home insurance in kent
I’m not sure exactly why but this site is loading very slow for me.
Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end?
I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.
my web-site: home insurance
naturally like your website however you need to check the spelling on several of your posts.
Several of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very bothersome to tell the truth on the other
hand I’ll definitely come again again.
My page: tuscaloosa insurance company
Howdy I am so grateful I found your blog,
I really found you by accident, while I was browsing on Bing for something else, Anyways I am here now and
would just like to say thank you for a remarkable
post and a all round interesting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have
time to go through it all at the moment but I have saved it and
also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to
read a great deal more, Please do keep up the great job.
I have been browsing online more than three hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
It is pretty worth enough for me. Personally,
if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will
be a lot more useful than ever before.
magnificent points altogether, you simply received a new
reader. What would you suggest in regards to your post that you made some days in the past?
Any certain?
Here is my homepage; kent insurance company
Very good information. Lucky me I came across your
website by accident (stumbleupon). I’ve book-marked it for later!
You actually make it appear really easy together with your presentation however I in finding this topic to be really one thing which I think I would by
no means understand. It seems too complicated and very wide for
me. I am taking a look forward on your subsequent submit, I will try to get
the grasp of it!
Here is my site … Bookmarks
After looking at a few of the blog posts on your
site, I really like your way of writing a blog.
I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back in the near future.
Take a look at my web site too and tell me how you feel.
You actually make it appear so easy along with your
presentation however I in finding this matter to be actually one thing which I believe I would by no means
understand. It seems too complicated and very huge for me.
I am looking forward in your next post, I will attempt
to get the cling of it!
Review my web page; kent washington
I’m not sure why but this web site is loading incredibly slow for me.
Is anyone else having this problem or is it a issue on my end?
I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.
Here is my blog – home insurance in tuscaloosa
This piece of writing is genuinely a nice one it helps new
net people, who are wishing in favor of blogging.
Peculiar article, just what I needed.
Also visit my blog post :: tuscaloosa alabama
I every time spent my half an hour to read
this blog’s articles or reviews every day along with a cup of coffee.
Feel free to surf to my blog – money sending text
Hi there! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could locate a captcha plugin for
my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and
I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!
Feel free to surf to my homepage :: kent insurance company
I could not refrain from commenting. Well written!
My web blog … auto insurance hoover
Nice blog here! Additionally your web site so much up fast!
What host are you using? Can I am getting your associate link to your host?
I wissh my website loaded up as fast as yours lol
I read this post completely on the topic of the resemblance of newest and previous technologies, it’s amazing
article.
my site; auto insurance kent washington
Civil Liberty Legal Representative. Lawful Malpractice highest paid types of lawyers in canada.
Appreciating the time and effort you put into your website and in depth information you provide.
It’s great to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed information. Excellent read!
I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
my blog post – home insurance
Hiya! Quick question that’s entirely off topic.
Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My web site looks weird when viewing from my
iphone4. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to
resolve this issue. If you have any suggestions, please share.
Appreciate it!
My web site – text coupon
You are a very intelligent person!
Feel free to visit my homepage … birthday text messages
Wow, awesome blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your site
is excellent, let alone the content!
Hi tnere to all, how is everything, I think every one is getting more from this website, and yyour views are pleasant for new visitors.
It’s really a great and helpful piece of information. I’m satisfied
that you simply shared this useful info with us.
Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
Stop by my site :: texting services
Thanks for your marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading it,
you can be a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and will eventually come back later in life.
I want blank november calendar to print encourage that you continue your great job, have a
nice holiday weekend!
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added”
checkbox and now each time a comment is added I
get three emails with the same comment. Is there
any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
My web site comprehensive insurance
My relatives every time say that I am wasting my time here at web, but I
know I am getting know-how every day by reading
thes pleasant articles.
At this time it looks like Movable Type is the preferred blogging platform
available right now. (from what I’ve how to read people`s text messages) Is that what
you’re using on your blog?
Hi there, I enjoy reading all of your article.
I like to write a little comment to support you.