VANGUARD

PORT HARCOURT: Women in Niger Delta region have tasked the Federal, State and Local Governments to be transparent in the implementation of budget and execution of projects.

Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre noted that Nigeria is now a member of Open Government Partnership, adding that women are ready to ensure that projects started in their communities are completed.

Worried by level of abandoned projects, the women group charged the governments to ensure the completion of all new contracts and renovation projects awarded, noting that projects financed with money from tax payers ought to be competed in interest of the masses.

The Executive Director of Kebetkache, Emem Okon, spoke in Port Harcourt yesterday, during a media interactive session with and the group’s budget advocacy unit on Financing for Development Project under the OXFAM Strategic partnership.

Okon, who was represented by Mr. Constance Meju, Board member of Kebetkache, regretted that a lot of money is budget yearly for projects, but that only few of such contracts are delivered to the people.

She said: “Nigeria is now a member of the Open Government Partnership, and one of the terms for membership is submission to transparency and accountability. It is important that government at all levels Federal, state and Local Governments should show some level of transparency in their budgets and projects.

“The world is turning to Sustainable Development. This is only achieved when the people own the project. You cannot plan for somebody when he is not there. We are advocating for the inclusion of the citizenry in the determination of budgets.

“Now that the money os going directly to the local governments, in order to be sure that money is not just share let the local governments make their budgets available to the people.”