Can financial autonomy to local government chiefs improve service delivery in local communities?

The Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai recently set the stage for reforming Nigeria’s local governments. He has ended the joint account systems between the state and local governments in his state. In addition, the governor made a commitment to give 10% of internally generated revenue to local governments in his state. Many local government chairmen blame poor service delivery at the local levels on state governments not releasing funds to them. Therefore, financial autonomy for local government chairmen is a good first step towards achieving effective service delivery at local levels.  

However, financial autonomy alone is not a guarantee for successful delivery of services at the local levels. It should be accompanied by accountability measures to ensure that local government chairmen do not mismanage or abuse public funds. These accountability measures should be upward (to the state government) and downward (to citizens/beneficiaries in communities). Kaduna state government has also led the way in this area by partnering with a civil society group (yourbudgit) to create a platform for citizens to access budget records, monitor progress and provide feedback. This is a welcome development and should be replicated by the other 35 states.

Beyond Kaduna State, here are some accountability measures that can be introduced or strengthened by other states at the local level to ensure effective management of funds in the delivery of public goods and services. These measures can be categorized as follows:

Upward Accountability –to the state governments

1. Performance contracts between state governors and the local government chairmen

State governors should introduce annual performance contracts between state governments and the local government chairmen. The performance contract will state the expected performance standards for each year. It will list the public goods and services that the local government chairman is expected to deliver for that year. Performance will be reviewed at the end of the year by the state government and community representatives. Appropriate action should be taken when the local government chairmen fail to deliver. This contract should be made publicly available.

2. Publish all budgetary allocations

The state governments should ensure that all local government chairmen publish their monthly budgetary allocations.

3. Conduct independent audits of local government accounts 

The state auditor general office should conduct regular audits on local government accounts. These audits should be made publicly available.

4. Transparency in the procurement processes

Local government chairmen should be made to publish all contracts awarded in the provision of public goods and services. For example, building of rural roads, provision of water, building schools, hospitals etc.

5. Establish complaints handling mechanisms

State governors should establish an avenue for citizens to report or complain about poor service delivery. It could be in the form of hotlines based in the governor’s office. This will also aid in monitoring the delivery of local services.

Social Accountability- to the citizens    

                                 

With the support of non-governmental organisations (NGOs)/community based organisations (CBOs), citizens in local communities should do the following:

1. Monitor the procurement process

The process for awarding and implementing contracts should be closely monitored by citizens. NGOs/CBOs can make a great difference in in this area.

2.  Monitor service provision

Citizens in the communities should track and monitor the delivery of key services. Feedback from the monitoring should be made publicly available and presented to the state governor and the local government chairman.

3. Establish service charters for various local services

The citizens in local communities should advocate for the establishment of service charters for various services in the local communities. E.g. service charter in hospitals, schools, registration of births, refuse collection, agricultural services etc. The service charter is a social contract between the service provider and service beneficiaries that lists the expected services and standards and provides information on how citizens can make a complaint if these standards are not met. Service charters are useful tools as it will help communities in monitoring the delivery of public services.

4.  Conduct annual social audits

Social audits is another form of community monitoring that can be conducted to compare the budgetary allocations and expenditures with the actual goods and services procured. The results from the social audit can be presented and discussed in a public hearing.

Financial autonomy for local government chairmen is a necessary first step in improving service delivery at the local levels. However, financial autonomy alone cannot improve service delivery in local communities. It should be accompanied by accountability measures (both upward and downward) to ensure the effective provision of local goods and services.  These accountability measures can only be effective with the cooperation from state governments.

Letting the beast loose!

With five ex-governors being arrested by Nigeria’s top anti-corruption agency (EFCC), the key question is will the cases be seen to completion? Will any of these prosecutions be successful? Is Nigeria’s judiciary ready for this new challenge? According to records on the EFCC website, there was only one conviction linked to the misuse of public funds in 2014, that conviction took 9 years from the day of being charged to court through to conviction. The length of time taken to secure convictions is too long.

The conviction of corrupt politicians or government officials will send a message to current political office holders that it is no longer business as usual. The judiciary system will need to be reformed to ensure that there is an increase in the number of convictions particularly those that involve corrupt politicians or anyone caught misusing public funds. The current government should fast track corruption cases that involve current or past political office holders. This may involve setting up special courts for handling corruption cases. An effective judiciary is crucial to the fight against corruption. Letting the beast loose is a good first step but we need to make sure that the beast has teeth.

For those interested, please see link to EFCC’s 2014 convictions:

https://efccnigeria.org/efcc/images/2014_Convictions.pdf

How did Nigeria Perform in the 2014 Transparency International Corruption Index?

Yet again, Nigeria retained its position of being the 3rd most corrupt country in the West African Region. This was highlighted in the 2014 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index released today. Transparency International Corruption Perception Index ranks countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. The measurement is based on a scale of 0 to 100 with a score of 0 perceived as "highly corrupt" and 100 "very clean". Nigeria’s performance on the 2014 ranking is slightly better than its 2013 ranking. It ranked 136 out of 175 countries with a score of 27 compared to 2013 when it ranked 144 out of 176 countries with a score of 25.

In Sub-Sahara Africa, Botswana ranked the best at 31 with a CPI score of 63. Cape Verde retained its number one position in the West African region being the best with a rank of 42 and CPI score of 57.Ghana ranked 61 with a CPI score of 48. Please see table below showing Nigeria’s performance in comparison with other West African countries.

Position	Country	Rank	2014 Score	2013 Rank	2013 Score
1	Cape Verde	42	57	41	58
2	Ghana	61	48	63	46
3	Senegal	69	43	77	41
4	Benin	80	39	94	36
5	Burkina Faso	85	38	83	38
6	Liberia	94	37	83	38
7	Niger	103	35	106	34
8	Mali	115	32	127	28
9	Cote d'ivoire	115	32	136	27
10	Sierra Leone	119	31	119	30
11	Togo	126	29	123	29
12	Gambia	126	29	127	28
13	Nigeria	136	27	144	25
14	Guinea	145	25	150	24
15	Guinea Bissau	161	19	163	19

An Urgent Call for Transparency and Accountability in Nigeria’s Security Sector

 ‘Daddy, Boko Haram is here… they are taking us away. Please tell mummy I may never see her again. Tell her to pray for me,”( Abducted Chibok girl- CNN May 9, 2014  )- This is the trauma that many Nigerians have been exposed to as a result of the activities of the local terrorist group called Boko Haram. The recent abduction of almost 300 girls in Chibok, Maiduguri has generated global attention to terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria. Bomb attacks and unrest have become a daily occurrence in the Northern part of the country. Let’s not forget random kidnappings and armed robbery that occur regularly in other parts of Nigeria.

Considerable resources are allocated to the security sector yet there appears to be no improvement in security. In the past three years, about N2.8 trillion naira ($17 billion dollars) have been allocated to security, 3.5 times the size of Nigeria’s Federal Health Budget, 2 times the Federal Education budget and 12 times the Federal Agriculture budget. 

Despite these resources, some soldiers deployed to fight the terrorists claim that of the N30, 000 ($200) of allowances that theyare entitled to they only receive N15, 000 ($100). Basic equipment and camp provisions are inadequate for fighting the terrorists. The 2013 Transparency International Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index (GI) ranks Nigeria alongside countries like Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq as countries with a very high risk of corruption in the defence sector, with limited transparency and legislative oversight on expenditures in this area.  

The Coordinator of the Procurement Monitoring Group in Nigeria, Ms Seember Nyager recently emphasized the need for the security contracts to be made publicly available.I agree with her and join the call for more transparency in this area. Nigerians need to demand for more transparency in the expenditure of the security budget and more accountability for those entrusted with security spending. Not only should this be an election issue for 2015 but arguably action should be taken now, with the anti-graft agencies getting more involved in investigating any alleged cases of corruption in the sector with prosecutions and convictions. If the Nigerian Government is serious in providing security to the nation, political appointees should be sacked if soldiers, police etc. are not receiving their rightful allowances.  There needs to be more accountability in this area.

Politicians running for office in 2015 should commit to increasing transparency in the expenditure of the security budget. Leaders need to take action where there is evidence of budgeted funds not being used appropriately.  Nigerians should ask parliamentarians representing their constituencies to commit to ensuring proper legislative oversight in this area. The largest chunk of the country’s budget is spent on security. Lives are being lost on a daily basis as a result of violence. We need better security outcomes. Please let’s demand for more transparency and accountability in this area to avoid more deaths and people sleeping in bushes as is currently the case in the Chibok community.

The missing Chibok girls: What the Nigerian government should have done

It has been three weeks (23 days) since over 200 young secondary school girls were abducted in Chibok, Borno state.The government’s response has been disappointing resulting in nationwide protests.There are many immediate actions that the Nigerian government should have taken to demonstrate its commitment as well as help in bringing back the girls home.They include the following:

• A nationwide presidential broadcast should have been given immediately after receiving the news of the abducted girls.
• No time ought to have been wasted. The military should have been mobilized immediately to go into the Sambisa forest (where it is believed that the girls were initially taken) rather than allowing parents with no military training to do so.
• The  government should have urgently requested for help from the international community to join forces with its military.
• A counselling center should have been set up for the families of the abducted girls.
• The government should have briefed Nigerians daily on progress being made to bring back the girls.
• The government should have worked with the school and families of the abducted girls to determine the names and numbers of the missing girls and not blame traumatized parents for being uncooperative.

Immediate responses like these are what Nigerians expect from its government. Setting up a committee weeks after the girls had been abducted is not the solution. In addition, arresting protesters fighting for the release of the girls is unacceptable and insensitive.

The Nigerian government needs to improve its intelligence gathering and the military’s capacity to handle terrorism issues. One of the main functions of government is to provide security for its people.  It is the right of every Nigerian to have good security. Nigerians need proper action now from its government. Please bring back our girls home.