By James Nwakpa
As part of efforts to strengthen and sustain the tenets of democracy in Nigeria through accountability, transparency, effectiveness and citizens' participation in Nigerian governance, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) state2state project in Ebonyi State, has organized a two-day workshop for some participants drawn from selected civil society organizations, ministries, departments and agencies in Ebonyi State aimed at training them on the need for citizens/community involvement while initiating and implementing projects meant for the people, through the community charter of demands (CCD).
In his remarks, one of the resource persons and facilitator of the workshop, Dr Ibiam Azu, noted that the workshop was focused on public financial management and citizens engagement, aimed at sensitizing the participants on the need to encourage a bottom-top approach in bringing development closer to the people.
According to Dr Azu "It is more beneficial for the government to include the citizens in the budget process and in choosing the developmental projects that they want to cite or that they want to give to the citizens because when that happens, the sustainability is guaranteed and the people will begin to appreciate what the government has brought to them and the stakeholders can easily score the political mileage of the government.
Dr Azu condemned a situation where the government will just wake up at will to impose a particular project on the people without involving them to identify their needs and attend to them in their order of priority.
He encouraged the government at all levels to consider the adoption of CCD as an integral part of governance in the planning and implementation of community projects, as it would give the citizens or beneficiaries of government-executed projects a sense of ownership as relevant partners in the government.
In an interview, some of the workshop participants including the Monitoring & Evaluation/Logistics Officer, Development & Integrity Intervention Goal (DIG) Foundation, Mr Chimezie Ude and the Senior Program Manager, DIG Foundation, Mr Anaele Okoro Agha, noted that they would assist the USAID to achieve this noble goal, by stepping down the workshop at the grassroots level.
