Naymote Partners for Democratic Development has taken bold steps to ensure accountability in Liberia’s governance through the empowerment of community leaders. Seventy-five, (75) community leaders across the 15 counties have been trained through three regional trainings, deployed to track, monitor, and report on key national commitments concerning peace, governance, and transparency.
These community leaders, equipped with the skills to utilize a mobile application (CommCare), to track public expenditure, and serve as watchdogs for their communities. Their work, guided by tools such as the Community-Based Monitoring (CBM), Public Expenditure Tracking Survey (PETS), Community Score Card and Social Audits, helps improve transparency, accountability and the effectiveness of public spending. Additionally, this initiative ensure that government commitments are met, and citizens benefit from their participation in democratic processes.
The institution has established the County Accountability and Advocacy Teams (CAATs) across the 15 counties as a platform for leading the project activities, hosting meetings with stakeholders to share findings of the community score card, and various reports from commitments made by their government.
These community leaders are now the eyes and ears of their counties, holding their governments accountable and preventing corruption at the grassroots level. Naymote’s initiative implemented across the country is a significant step towards fostering community-led governance.
This effort builds on Naymote’s longstanding role in restoring peace and democracy in Liberia. Since 2019, the organization has played a pivotal role in the formulation of a consolidated peace and reconciliation plan, which was launched by former President George M. Weah in 2020. Today, the plan is a key reference for peacebuilding actors, both nationally and internationally, as Liberia continues to heal from its troubled past.
The initiative is part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) intervention geared towards Empowering Citizens and Communities to Foster Social Accountability and Transparency in Governance and Public Service, which is contributing toward national development, social cohesion and peacebuilding in Liberia.