Gbarnga, Bong County – The Community Development and Research Agency (CODRA) and the Liberian Children’s Schooling Project (LCSP) on Friday July 16, 2016 launched a “Social Accountability Project” in Gbarnga, Bong County.
Report by: Selma Lomax, [email protected]
During the launch of the project, the heads of the two implementing organizations Messrs Lassanah Dukuly and Dr. Mogana Flomo Sr. told the gathering the project is meant to increase citizens’ participation in monitoring government’s spending in a drive to ensure transparency and accountability.
The two civil society organizations Executives explained under the project, their respective organizations will establish and strengthen the capacity and competence of two social accountability clubs in two educational and health districts in Bong and Nimba Counties.
The project under the topic “Enhancing Service Delivery, the Need for an Inclusive Participation – The Role of Communities” will last for eight months and will be implemented in three counties, namely; Bong, Nimba and Margibi Counties.
Messrs Dukuly and Flomo indicated their institutions will hold stakeholders engagements in the three counties aimed at mobilizing community people to get involve with social accountability.
Dukuly said his organization, CODRA, will monitor and track service delivery under its project title.
“Enhancing Citizens’ Social Demand for Accountability and Transparency and Effectiveness in Public Service Delivery in the Health and Education Sectors”.
He said the project will be implemented in Bong and Nimba Counties will CODRA working in five (50 communities in each county).
He maintained that CODRA and LCSP under the current grant award were among 13 civil society organizations that were selected through competitive evaluation process to implement various projects in the country.
For his part the Liberia Children’s Schooling Project (LCSP) Executive Director Mr. Mogana Flomo said his organization will work with vulnerable and the physically challenged in Bong and Margibi Counties in strengthening their participation in monitoring the delivery of government services.
He said the LCSP will also engage service providers on public services that are relevant to vulnerable people and to mobilize and organize them to enhance their capacity in order to articulate issues and engage local authorities meaningfully and constructively.
At the same time, an official of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning Non State Actors Secretariat Mrs. Carolyn Zoduah told the participants the government of Liberia remains committed in ensuring accountability in its spending activities of state’s resources is achieved.
Mrs. Zoduah assured the gathering the Finance Ministry will continue to work with civil society organizations and the citizens in general in ensuring transparency and accountability in the delivery of social services is implemented.
It can be recalled since 2014, the Government of Liberia (GOL) through the Non State Actors Secretariat at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning with support from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Union (EU) has been providing funding for the strengthening of citizens’ voices, the demand side of governance, to hold the government accountable for the way it is managing the public resources.
The programme was attended by an array of local government officials including the District Commissioners, the disabled community, the local health teams and the education authorities from Bong and Nimba Counties.