As a way of empowering citizens with budget information to enhance accountability of public officials for effective public service delivery Citizens Budget Watch has trained 37 Budget Accountability and Tracking Teams (BATTs) in Port Loko District.
The training participants were drawn from community based organizations, the media, students, civil society organizations and the general public.
In her opening statement, the BATTs Coordinator for Port Loko District Miss Mafudia Kamara, thanked the Open Society initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) for supporting Citizens Budget Watch to set up and train BATTs in their district as she referred to the project a unique and laudable initiative that has never happened in their district.
She called on members to embrace the project as the project has potential to turn around things in their district in enhancing public service delivery in the health and education sectors.
She continued to say that for so long they have been wishing for such a project that will empower them to track and monitor central government as well as local council budget expenditure in their district. She also said “service delivery in the area of health and education sector is deplorable as maternal mortality rate is very high in the district and has accounted for more than 50 deaths in the month of June and it is worrisome for our district, she said.
The Head of programs Citizens’ Budget Watch SL Lamin Vanna, welcomed members to the organization’s training program.
He told participants that Citizens’ Budget Watch is a Civil Society Organization that works towards promoting effective and efficient public service delivery through transparent budgetary and accountability by ensuring that every precious tax Leone deliver maximum value for the citizens.
He continued to say the organization do advocacy, lobbying, track and monitor government budget expenditure and engage stakeholders on economic governance issues.
He further said this project is designed by the organization and supported by OSIWA and the organization will set up and train BATTs and also train community stakeholders in the district on how to track and monitor central government as well as councils’ budget expenditure in the health and education sector in the district. He continued to say the project objective is to enhance public service delivery in the district.
He encouraged the BATTs to seize this opportunity and increase service delivery in the health and education sectors in their district. He ended by thanking the council administration for providing the plat form to interact and have a successful training session and he also thanked OSIWA for supporting them on such a project.
The training was facilitated by two Senior Budget Officers from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Mr. Abdul Rahman Conteh and Osman Alpha Kamara. Participants were taught on the meaning of government budget, citizens’ budget, how to track and monitor government budget, citizens’ role in monitoring government budget, what is participatory budgeting, the importance of participatory budget, how to enhance participatory budget and what to look for in monitoring government budget expenditure. They continued to say all these are geared towards enhancing effective and efficient public service delivery in their district especially in the Health and Education sectors.
Tension mounted amongst participants when they were given central government transfers so far to district councils for first half of 2016 as they claimed their district has been denied of any fund received from government.
They went on to say there is a total disconnect between the people and the council and that the council does things unilaterally without informing or involving the people.
They continued to say the council used to hold public hearing during their budget preparation but for so long now they have not been holding public hearing on their budget as that has been the reason for the declining state of health and education services in their district.
They requested for the organization’s support in ensuring that their district council increase public participation in their budget preparation by display of funds transfer from central government and donor agencies to enhance transparency and accountability that will lead to effective service delivery in health and education sectors in their district.
The training climaxed with an exercise.
Friday July 01, 2016
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