The Kaduna State Government of Nigeria is to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with BudgIT to develop an open budgeting system.
This platform is expected to allow citizens access to the policies, budgets, procurement records and status of funds release. Kaduna State citizens will also be able to verify and monitor the government’s progress using their mobile phones, and can report their feedback through the same platform.
BudgIT as an idea was conceptualised and at the Tech-In-Governance, a 48 hour gathering organised by Co-Creation Hub in February 2011. As a tool, BudgIT aims to redefine participatory governance.
According to the Governor of the state, Malam El Rufai, “We are delighted to be making this contribution to enhancing transparency, and shredding the veil of secrecy that often marginalizes the citizens from informed knowledge of how public finances are mobilized and utilised.”
In the same vein, BudgIT co-founder, Oluseun Onigbinde, said: “This initiative is to deepen the interaction between citizens and government, in line with the current mood of the country for increased transparency and accountability.
According to Onigbinde, BudgIT also believes that with the intense focus on the national government and goodwill following the recent elections, which ended the 16-year rule of a dominant party, there is a rising level of civic consciousness that is now focused on the state governments. “Citizens through organized online and offline campaigns are demanding accountability from subnational government, and are asking deeper questions,” he noted.
In related tweets, the civic technology organization stated that the project will be funded by grants and its own resources.
The project with Kaduna State Government is to build a STANDARD for State budgets and engagement with the public. 1/2
— BudgIT Nigeria (@BudgITng) June 26, 2015
The Project comes at NO cost of public treasury. It will be fully funded by grants and our own resources. 2/2
— BudgIT Nigeria (@BudgITng) June 26, 2015
It is hoped that other states will follow suit as we really do need a change in the way governments are run in Nigeria, in terms of transparency and accountability.
