BudgIT Foundation, a civic-tech organisation and public finance think-tank, says it has reached more than 22 million citizens through its fiscal transparency initiatives.
The organisation disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday to mark its 15th anniversary.
The Country Director of BudgIT Foundation, Mr Vahyala Kwaga, said the organisation had evolved from a Nigerian initiative into a civic-tech organisation operating across Africa.
Kwaga said BudgIT currently operates in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal and Ghana, with a United States office in Washington, D.C.
He said the organisation had developed several civic technology tools, including Tracka, GovSpend, Live Results, Me.BudgIT.org, Open States, Kwerty and the Federal Government Budget Dashboard.
According to him, the tools have helped simplify public budgets, track government spending and make public finance information more accessible to citizens.
Kwaga said BudgIT had also strengthened subnational fiscal transparency by publishing 10 editions of its State of States Fiscal Report.
He said with support from the World Bank, the organisation helped increase the number of states publishing their budgets from three in 2014 to all 36 states.
The country director said BudgIT also introduced the States Fiscal Transparency League Table to encourage state governments to improve fiscal disclosure.
He said the organisation had tracked 19,644 projects valued at N8.5 trillion across 7,589 communities through its community monitoring initiatives.
According to him, the initiatives contributed to the completion of more than 11,800 projects worth N3.5 trillion in health, education and infrastructure.
“The completed projects have benefited more than 11.5 million Nigerians across different communities.
“BudgIT has also organised more than 7,612 town hall meetings to promote citizen participation and engagement in governance.
“The organisation’s “GovSpend” platform has supported more than 60 media reports, identifying over N250 billion in potentially wasteful government spending,” he said.
The country director said BudgIT also partnered with the ICPC and EFCC on a N220 billion petition that resulted in the recovery of ambulances and other public property.
He said the organisation provided pro bono support to the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee in 2024 during the review of Nigeria’s tax code.
Kwaga said BudgIT had also supported 45 civil society and media organisations to strengthen their capacity in governance, data analysis and policy engagement.
He said that the organisation’s activities had expanded beyond Nigeria, with initiatives in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Senegal.
According to him, BudgIT’s Pan-African COVID-19 Resource Accountability Project tracked the use of resources across nine countries.
He said the organisation also worked with the Open Government Partnership to produce health-sector accountability and vaccine-equity reports for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Kwaga said BudgIT’s anniversary would feature reflections, community engagements and public conversations throughout September.
He said the activities would culminate in the organisation’s 15th anniversary celebration on Sept. 13.
Kwaga reaffirmed BudgIT’s commitment to promoting transparent and accountable governance across Africa.
He said the organisation believed that active citizen participation remained a critical force for achieving sustainable governance reforms. (NAN)
M.P
Tags: BudIT
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