BudgIT Foundation, a civic-tech organisation leading the advocacy for fiscal transparency and accountability in Nigeria, has launched a Tracka Mobile 2.0 application to promote participatory governance.
Mr Henry Omokhaye, Project Manager, BudgIT Foundation, said during the launch of the application, on Tuesday in Abuja, said it would aid participatory governance at the subnational level.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Tracka Mobile 2.0 application was developed under the Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) project with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Omokhaye said with the application, citizens could view all federal projects in a state in a particular year; search and report specific projects in their communities, and view monthly federal allocations to their local government areas.
“The mobile application will also connect citizens to the government as a user can post or vote for a community need.
“This will aid elected representatives, the MDAs, CSOs, NGOs and the media to conduct a proper needs assessment and tailor interventions towards them,” he said.
According to him, citizens’ participation in governance and public finance is crucial to ensuring fiscal transparency and effective service delivery.
Omokhaye said the application would provide simplified data on federal allocations to the three tiers of government.
He said it would also provide data for ongoing public projects across the 36 states of the federation and aid needs assessment exercises for elected representatives to optimise project nomination and implementation.
“Tracka Mobile 2.0 will strengthen the advocacy capacity of CSOs, citizens and pressure groups to engage public institutions and demand improved and sustainable service delivery.
“Likewise, it will provide research and policy analysts with a repository of data they can leverage on for policy documents,” he said.
He added that the mobile application would ensure that allocated public funds for projects nominated by political office holders at all levels of government were effectively disbursed for the good of the people.
“The platform will allow citizens to nominate and monitor projects for implementation in their various communities.
“This will check the culture of non-inclusion of the citizens in the projects nomination process that has led to an increased number of abandoned projects across Nigeria,” he said.
Omokhaye said BudgIT would engage public institutions and politicians to adopt the mobile application to close the gap between the citizens and their elected officials for improved and sustainable service delivery.
“Tracka Mobile 2.0 is available for download on Google Playstore and coming to iOS soon,” he said.
Ms Lydia Odeh, Chief of Party, Palladium, said the application was long overdue and the launch timely.
She said it would enable Nigerians to be at the centre of governance: “It is tool that will bring governance closer to the people.”
Odeh looked forward to Nigerians using the tracka to engage the government and also participate in governance.
