Save the Children International SCI has pledged to enhance knowledge and skills of Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria to effectively monitor transparency and accountability in government budgeting and expenditure especially in the areas of social protection interventions.
The acting National Programme Manager of the organization Mr. Yimave Gyangyang stated this at a capacity building training for National Social Protection Forum in Zamfara, Kaduna and some National officers held in Kaduna.
He said Over the years, Save the Children International had been working with Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria to form a National Social Protection forum towards enhancing their capacity for effective engagement with those in authority.
Mr. Yimave Terkura Gyanggyang explained that the training was designed for Civil Society Organizations across Nigerian to play critical roles in budget processes and its implementation.
“What we are looking forward is to build capacity of CSO Forum that will participate in budget and budgeting processes with regard to Social Protection SP.
This training is therefore to enhance their capacity to engage with government in the formulation around SP, the implementation of this budget and even track the expenditure of how such allocation are expended”.
“Our hope is that with this new understanding, the CSOs will step down the training to other CSO members as well as citizens so that going forward they both can engage with government better around SP”.
The Chairman Civil Society Coalition, Taraba State Dr. Joseph Gimba said although social Protection budgeting by states was huge but however not properly coordinated.
“If you look at the last sub national budget transparency index the level of accountability transparency is very low indicating that the States are not performing well when it comes to SP, If it were used for what it is meant for the level of poverty would have reduced. The NGOs are doing well but government has being suspicious of the CSO and some state even banned them which is not good for democracy, Government at all levels should look at CSOs as partners”.
Speaking, the Chairperson, Kaduna Social Protection Accountability Mechanism Jessica Bartholomew in her presentation stated that any social performance index that does not reflect on the people meant for was an indication that it was not effective.
“The real performance index as far as SP is concern is to see it in the people, In Kaduna, We are performing on paper but the real performance has reached the communities. This meeting is not only to track budget but also to know how to engage government at all levels to improve the level of budgeting, the prioritization of SP intervention and to see how to strengthened MDAs to implement SP interventions in our communities effectively.
Also, the Secretary Zamfara Civil Society Platform, mallam Yusuf Yahaya maintained that some of the budgetary allocations meant for Social Protection SP are not domiciled in the appropriate Ministries.
He explained that Social Protection was a program designed to reduce poverty, vulnerability and improve livelihood of the less privileged people in the society.
Cov/Shindong Bala
