Skip to main content

Kaduna COVID-19 Prevention Measures and the need for Transparency and Accountability


By YUSUF GOJE

It is obvious even to the blind and audible to the deaf that we are confronted with unusual times. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the world to its knees; even the most powerful countries and leaders are desperately helpless and overwhelmed. The global economy is fast
crashing, which could throw us possibly into the worst depression the world has witnessed in recent history. More depressing is the increasing number of confirmed infected cases and rising deaths; which has exposed the weakness of the global health systems to cope with such emergencies.

To nip the pandemic in the bud, countries and sub-nationals have been adopting diverse approaches to halt the high rate of spread, save the infected and resuscitate the failing economies. At this point, it is pertinent to acknowledge the proactive steps taken by sub-nationals like Lagos and Kaduna state. In particular, the latter, which has taken commendable preventive measures that include mass awareness creation, restriction on public gathering, ban on commercial activities and subsequently imposition of a 24 hour curfew.

Also, in view of the looming economic crisis as a result of the pandemic, the state government has taken some austerity measure by re-prioritizing public expenditure. Equally important, in the race to curb the spread and impact of Covid-19, there will be a rush in emergency procedures that require huge public spending and procurement. For instance, the recent statement that imposed the 24 hour curfew on the 26th March, 2020 by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, hinted that the state is procuring food and other supplies, funded from its contingency budget, to mitigate the challenges of a lockdown for such on especially vulnerable persons in our communities.

Furthermore, she stated that the “items will be distributed in community clusters across urban local government areas in the state. This will be a grassroots exercise as it is people drawn from the target community that will constitute the committee to manage the distribution”. These necessary actions by the government, as laudable as they are, require full and real-time public disclosure in line with open budget and open contracting principles of the Open GovernmentPartnership (OGP) State action plan.

Some key questions that need public accountability by the government are: what is the preparedness of our fiscal transparency instruments to account for public finance adjustments? Under what Ministry, Department and Agency is the contingency budget in the 2020 approved State budget? How much was allocated? Are the budget items made public? What procurement procedures have been taken? If the contracts have been awarded, whoare the contractors?

Other germane questions begging for answers are: what are the criteria for identifying the vulnerable? Does the social register of the State adequately capture the vulnerable in our communities? What are the criteria for selecting committee members for distribution of items in the communities? What are the measures in place to check political/elite hijack (as it is being alleged in Lagos)?

The response to these questions by the government is critical to ensuring that the measures taken so far by the government achieves the desired result. For instance, elsewhere in the world, on the 26th March 2020, a working group of 13 Latin American chapters of Transparency International presented a set of proposals to mitigate the risk of corruption in public procurement as part of the region’s response to the Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic. The proposals strongly argue that unless anti-corruption measures are implemented during this crisis, corruption will cost lives.

Furthermore, the analysis (in the same proposals) highlights corruption risks and key preventive strategies to ensure that direct purchases and contracting, which occur as a result of the health crisis, serve to help citizens and alleviate the impact on local economies, and are not instead diverted by corruption or opportunism. This is the more reason why the Kaduna State government must take preventive measures to ensure public transparency and accountability in terms of allocation, utilization and reporting of public finances in the race to win the fight against the ravaging virus.

In conclusion, all hands must be on deck especially by the civil society in demanding transparency, public accountability and tracking implementation of all government measures as these are usual times. We cannot be nonchalant with an issue like this as the lives of millions depends on out intervention. Also, I wish our governor quickest recovery as we need him to continue to be at the forefront of this fight to defeat covid-19 in the State.

Goje, is Head, Leadership, Governance & Advocacy of
Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment and
Development (CALPED).

He can be reached at greatnessygoje@gmail.com

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why States may be unable to pay new minimum wage -Commissioner

Citizens listening with rapt attention  By YUSUF GOJE C ommissioner, Planning and Budget Commission Kaduna state, Mohammed  Sani Dattijo has queried the rationale behind the proposed upward review  of the minimum wage, which he said compels even states that are not  viable to play ball. Making the assertion at the  recently concluded Citizens' Consultation forum on Medium Term Expenditure Framework 2019-2021  held in Kaduna, Dattijo said:"The minimum wage should be moved from the  exclusive to the concurrent list, even though Kaduna state is  healthier than most states, there are states that cannot afford the  increase in minimum wage. If this is not done, the increase in minimum wage will only be on paper but difficult to implement by many states, resulting in labor disputes". He stressed that the exclusiveness of this piece of  legislation which empowers only the Federal government to de...

Yearning for sound Fiscal Responsibility

Fundamentals for good governance G overnment and Citizens' Groups in Kaduna state have teamed up to engender effective budget tracking and implementation to create the enabling environment for increased internally generated revenue (IGR), in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). This was the fallout of a three-day eye opening event, facilitated by Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL-ECP), in collaboration with the Kaduna state government. The engagement touched on the urgent need to conduct budget trend analysis across key sectors - Economics, Social, Law/Justice as well as Administration, including audit report, all aimed ultimately at putting Kaduna state in good stead for sustained economic growth. Addressing participants drawn from government and citizens' groups, Mr Timothy Effiong, a Public Financial Management Consultant, maintained that even in Kaduna a state that is very policy-driven, there exist gaps in g...

Coalition urges COP-27 to fast track advocacy against Climate Change

  Participants in a group photograph after the event in Kaduna By EDDY OCHIGBO,  A  coalition  of environmental organizations in Kaduna, under the aegis Extinction Rebellion (XR) - a global movement which seeks to persuade governments to act justly on climate change and ecological emergency - has hosted a pre-COP27, in partnership with Bridge-that-Gap Initiative, to galvanize the campaign against climate change, as the   the 27th Conference of Parties slated for Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt kicks off. In an exclusive interview with NATIONAL ACCORD, one the coordinators of the event in Kaduna metropolis, Mr Zinta Akpoko, revealed that  COP27, Egypt could become a turning point of the campaign, given that forerunners of the conference have since pledged to relentlessly push to prioritize climate financing for developing nations.  "The effect of climate change is very evident and we need to be very frank  by telling the truth about the inherent dangers tha...

TRIBUTE: Dr Bala Takaya 1930 - 2018

  Bala John Takaya (2nd Left) at a function recently By Nasiru Jagaba Again, with rude shock, death has come upon us in the early hours of Sunday, 27th May, 2018. It is with deepest regret that the Middle Belt Youth Wing of Middle Belt Forum mourns the death of our President, Father, Mentor, and a tireless advocate of equity, fairness and justice, Dr Bala John Takaya, the President of Middle Belt Forum has silently closed the door of life and departed from us, never to return.  68 years old Takaya, an unparalleled University Senior Lecturer, a distinct politician who served as the  Secretary to State Government of the old Gongola State, a member of the 1987 Political Bureau. On the fight to restore democratic system of governance, he worked hand in hand with Chief Solomon Lar. Also, in 1999 he was the governorship candidate of the All People’s Party, APP later ANPP.  He is much esteemed in the community of Middle Belt and generally recognized as on...

Making a case for Kaduna's Agric sector

By Yusuf Goje I t will be most appropriate to start by commending the Kaduna State House of Assembly for breaking the jinx of holding a legislative public hearing for the first on the 2020 draft budget. This provided citizens and civil society partners the avenue to make submissions on the various sectors of interest towards improved public service delivery and value for money. The Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment & Development (CALPED), a civil society working on governance reforms, submitted a memo and made a presentation making a case for increased funding for the agricultural sector and use of technology to collect data for effective planning, among other critical issues. Our presentation aligned with the words of Akinwumi Adesina, the erudite and charismatic President of the African Development Bank, who rightly posited that, “making agriculture profitable and ‘cool’ for young people in Africa is key to lifting millions out of pove...