Tracka, a BudgIT’s transparency platform that allows citizens to collaborate, track and give feedback on public projects in their communities is expanding its operations to Abia, Bauchi and Benue states in a bid to ensuring an effective and inclusive government that works for the public. Tracka already has an established presence in 26 states.Tracka,
In a statement signed by its communications Associate, Iyanu Fatoba, he said the platform was established to forestall the prevalence over the years of shoddy and poor execution of public projects at both National and Subnational levels, which according to him has been heightened by public ignorance of the budget process and inability of the citizens to demand for service delivery from their representatives.
Fatoba adds that Tracka ensures that citizens are well informed on budget allocation and implementation processes by equipping them with adequate budgetary information and simplifying budget details to empower communities and ensure they take ownership, monitor and hold their representatives accountable until projects are effectively implemented.
He further revealed that come August 10, Tracka will commence its community engagement and tracking exercise in all the Local Government Areas within Abia, Bauchi and Benue States. The exercise will focus on examining capital projects that have been awarded to these communities. More importantly, Tracka will also induct community project tracking champions within the localities for future collaborations, continuous engagement and feedback.
‘’We will be engaging government officials and agencies via written letters to follow up on these projects Citizens who have access to digital platforms will also be trained on social media as a feedback loop, and the reviews will be aggregated to build actionable intelligence’’ Says Uademen Ilevbaoje, Head of Tracka
The focus communities will be educated on how to leverage the Freedom of Information (FOI) policy for information requests on budget allocations to their communities.
Participation in the budget process and project monitoring by active citizens is one of the effective ways to ensure government’s commitment to transparency and quality service delivery, thus, citizens should consistently engage their elected representatives, and follow up on capital projects awarded to their communities to ensure their needs are adequately captured in every yearly fiscal plan.