By Joseph Edegbo :
A 2- day Public Policy Dialogue on Public Procurement in Kaduna State begins on Monday in Zaria, Northwest Nigeria.
It is being organized by Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn, PERL in collaboration with Open Government Partnership, OGP as part of their commitment to increasing level of civic participation and ownership in public procurement process as well as fiscal transparency in Kaduna State.
Furthermore, to provide adequate information and access to procurement data across all the sectors.
A statement by the State Team Leader, PERL, Mr. A dejor Abel acknowledges the achievements recorded in that Sector in Kaduna State, following the enactment of the Public Procurement Law and subsequent establishment of the regulatory agency, Kaduna Public Procurement Authority.
The Agency, the statement emphasizes, has been mandated to oversee the State’s procurement system and ensure it conforms to international standards.
This deliberate effort, PERL acknowledges, has brought achievements including publication and distribution of procurement law and Guideline both online and hardcopies, publication of all contracts in the State in line with OCDS standards.
Others, are deployment and implementation of E- procurement portal, Public sensitization and stakeholders engagement on public procurement principles in the State, registration and training and encouraging SMEs participation in e- procurement.
It was against this successes, Kaduna State has been “crowned” with the nomination to lead the other 35 States and Abuja on e- procurement, the statement said.
Stakeholders expected at the event include a wide range of citizen groups and representatives as well as the media which PERL- ECP says has been working with.
PERL, the statement explains, supports these partners to represent citizens’ voice, bring citizens’ priorities to government in an effective way, and hold government to account for the implementation of policy and budget commitments.
READ MORE ABOUT PERL;-
The Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) is a UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) public-sector accountability and governance programme improving governance and service delivery in Nigeria, primarily focusing on Education, Health and Open Societies. PERL has three pillars emphasizing complementary work with governments – Accountable, Responsive & Capable Government (ARC), non-government- Engaged Citizens Pillar (ECP) and Learning Pillar- Evidencing and Advocacy Partnership (LEAP). I