Publication: Budget and Procurement Monitoring in Nigeria : A Civil Society Perspective
Date
2014-09
ISSN
Published
2014-09
Author(s)
Zovighian, Diane
Abstract
Can governments be held accountable for
spending by citizen organizations? In this issue the author
present the experience of two civil society organizations
(CSOs) engaged in budget and procurement review and
monitoring in Nigeria. In the Nigerian context, the
preconditions for accountable citizen-state relations are
underdeveloped. In particular, some of the building blocks
of transparent and accountable public financial management
systems are absent or dysfunctional. Lack of information and
limited opportunities for citizens' engagement in
government processes have resulted in high levels of
mistrust between citizens and government. Despite these
challenges, there are people and groups, in both government
and civil society, who have taken bold steps to ensure
greater transparency and accountability in the planning and
management of public resources. For example, networks of
CSOs working in the area of procurement oversight have
started demanding information on procurement bids. The World
Bank civil society fund provides financial and technical
support to CSOs aimed at improving their capacity and
effectiveness to engage in reform and policy processes.
Given the World Bank's broader focus on governance
reforms, a particular emphasis has been placed on supporting
CSO engagement in monitoring the use of public resources,
including budget and procurement processes and the delivery
of public assets and services. This note features interviews
with two civil society fund (CSF) grantees. The first is
with Amy Oyekunle, the executive director and manager of the
CSF grant at the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND),
and the second with Nkem Ilo, manager of the CSF grant at
the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC). The aim of
these interviews is to look at how these organizations
navigate the challenges of the Nigerian governance context
and what they can realistically achieve with financial and
technical support from the World Bank in this context.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Zovighian, Diane. 2014. Budget and Procurement Monitoring in Nigeria : A Civil Society Perspective. Perspectives on social development :
briefing notes from Nigeria;. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21116 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”