CSOs seek increased budget monitoring to curb high spending

[MrVan]

BY CHINEDU IBEABUCHI

Worried over the high expenditure in the annual budget each year, a coalition of Civil Society Organisations have called for increased monitoring of budget implementation to checkmate the level of wasteful spending by government officials.

Specifically, CSOs, at a Forum on Fiscal Responsibility in Lagos, called for increased sensitization of the public on the Fiscal Responsibility Act, Freedom of Information Act and the Public Procurement Act as a means of tackling the persistent mismanagement of public finance.

Mr. Eze Onyekpere, Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice and organizer of the event queried that had Nigeria's fiscal policies responded positively to the challenges of underdevelopment, the country would have been able to develop its human capital, address infrastructure deficits and generate economic growth at the level required under the vision 20:2020 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He blamed the lack of transparency and accountability in government for this level of underdevelopment.

In his own submission, Deputy Director, Community Life Project, Mr. Chuks Ojidoh said the Public Procurement Act 2007 confers procurement observer status on civil society organisations, CSOs, through the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP.

He said the PPA grants the public access to procurement records and information and mandates procuring entities to invite two credible persons from relevant CSOs to act as observers in their procurement proceedings. He therefore enjoined Nigerians to leverage on this and monitor every detailed public expenditure in their areas.

Earlier, Chairman Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Dr. Aliyu Jibril Yelwa in his speech said the establishment of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission was necessitated by the urgent need for order and discipline in the management of the nation's resources.

Vanguard Nigeria