Group wants civil societies involved in budget monitoring, implementation

The Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group (NDEUMOG), Dr. George-Hill Anthony has appealed to both the federal and state governments to involve civil societies, community stakeholders and others in the monitoring of capital projects.

He made the appeal at a two-day Financing for Development (F-4D)- Strategic Partnership Programme (SPP), held in Akwa Ibom State.

Anthony said with such participatory approach to budget formulation and implementation, feedback would be sent directly to the federal and states ministries of finance.

He condemned a situation where recurrent expenditure gulped over 70 percent in budget estimates, saying the reverse should be the case under normal circumstances.

According to him, lack of involvement of such stakeholders at planning stages of the budget always resulted in government’s inability to achieve its outlined projects.

“As a nation there is a dislocation in the way our national fiscal projection is structured. The people have to be involved in the process of monitoring capital implementation of federal and states’ budget.

That is the key demand or appeal that we want to make.

A window needs to be opened for civil societies and community stakeholders to be involved in monitoring capital projects of federal and states’ government, where feedback will be sent directly to the federal and state ministries of finance so that they can track budget intelligence directly from the grass-root without depending on anyone.