By Joseph Edegbo
A regional Conference on Tracking Trends of Corruption through abandoned projects in the Niger-Delta has called for the establishment of an Audit Service Commission for prudence and sectoral Service discipline into public procurement and auditing processes.
In a Communique issued at the end of the conference in Port Harcourt, participants also tasked anti-corruption citizens groups to intensify campaigns toward bringing the menace of corruption in the region to an end.
They also suggested that anti-corruption ambassadors be further raised to add to the milieu of resources and tools championing the crusade against Corruption in the society as well as Citizens participation in budget planning and implementation.
Other Reconciliations are: –
“That the school curricula must be considered for infusing anti-corruption study into formal education process right from basic education level. The use of youth gangs to induce violence and insecurity as contributing factors to the problem of abandoned project must be discouraged.
“The overbearing influence of the oil and gas sector must be made to subscribe to prudent contracting processes in order to improve anti-corruption practice and also enhance contract related benefits and services to respective communities.
“An oversight committee comprising of State and CSOs representatives should be established across the States towards ensuring budget compliance to ensure social accountability on needs assessment, budgeting and implementation
“Parliamentary independence and oversight roles must be fully utilized to improve the prospects of realizing better dividends from transparency and accountability practices around public procurement processes in the region.
“There is compelling need for the State at all levels to implement the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) to address the problem of non-accountability and corruption.
“All relevant stakeholders should be involved from the beginning of project planning process to give all fair understanding of, and a sense of ownership to trigger implementation success for publicly funded projects.
“Open governance partnership, OGP, should be adopted to strengthen CSOs input into budgeting and project implementing – to this end; Open budget process should be vigorously pursued to enhance information access around public spending.
“Awareness creation and sensitization of the masses should be utilized to mobilize grassroots participation in combating corruption.
“Electoral process should be improved to achieve peaceful, free and fair balloting towards enhancing prospects of combating corruption.
The conference was organised by Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Section) in Collaboration with the African Centre for Media and Literacy with the support of MacArthur Foundation.
It had in attendance, anti-corruption agencies, committees, States government MDAs, Development Partners, CSOs traditional institutions, Community groups and the media.