Budget to be disseminated in pictures to the public
Government budgets are to be disseminated to the public in picture as part of the “Social Accountability” initiative.
These pictorial budgets would be available at public places in the communities for the people to view.
“Social
Accountability refers to the ability of citizens, civil society
organisations and other non state actors to hold the state accountable
and make it responsive to their needs.”
Mrs Irene Odokai Messiba,
Head of Social Accountability Unit of the Ministry of Local Government
and Rural Development (MLGRD) announced this at a sensitization workshop
under the Local Government capacity support project.
The
workshop was attended by staff of the Ho Municipal Assembly and
representatives of Ho traditional Council, disability and special
interest groups and the media, identified as important stakeholders in
giving effect to social accountability in the country.
Mrs Messiba appealed to traditional authorities to help state actors to reduce the cost of engaging with them regularly.
She
said state officials have abundant information to share with the
traditional authorities but the cost of logistics was the limiting
factor to such engagements.
Mrs Messiba observed that out of
frustration the citizenry resort to “demonstrations, strikes and “shit
bombing” while journalists put up stories to compel authorities to
furnish them with information.
She therefore advised officials of
the Assemblies to demystify government information and let the people
know the facts and the truths which are most often straightforward.
Mrs Messiba said the relationship between the citizenry and civil and public servants is one of shop-owners and shop attendants.
“We are the shop attendants,” she said.
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