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By Zika Bobby
Anambra Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs. Chiamaka Nnake, has said Governor Chukwuma Soludo is committed to open and transparent governance in the state.
She said this has been demonstrated by the governor since he took over the mantle of leadership in the state.
She spoke at a one-day workshop organised by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in collaboration with UNICEF where the participants finalised and validated the second State Action Plan (SAP 2) of the Open Government Partnership in Awka.
The commissioner, represented by her ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Chinyere Nwabachili, said government activities were now more open to the people than in the past.
“Governor Soludo who is an advocate of transparency and accountability will do everything to ensure OGP works in the state,” she said.
Also speaking, the focal person of OGP in the state and Senior Special Assistant to Governor Soludo on Budget and Economic Planning, Ogochukwu Orji, said that the state’s implementation of the OGP SAP 1 was commendable.
While noting that the finalisation and validation of SAP 2 were preceded by many activities and technical sessions, she explained that the plan would still pass through some more processes before it becomes a public document.
She expressed optimism that the newly-validated SAP 2 would be more optimally implemented and would also augment and build on the successes of the first SAP, all with the central aim of improving transparency, accountability, inclusiveness and responsiveness in governance.
She said the essence of the brainstorming workshop was to identify other thematic areas including accountability, inclusiveness, transparency, citizens’ engagement and technology advancement.
In his speech, the co-chair of OGP in the state, Prince Chris Azor highlighted some of the successes and testimonies that trailed the implementation of SAP 1 in the state, including the commencement of open and participatory budget system, e-procurement, creation of Disability Rights Commission and Disability laws, as well as improved transparency level, among others.
Azor, who commended the state for this milestone, however, said that despite these achievements, there was still a need for more improvement in some other key areas of urgent intervention such as erosion, flooding and waste management challenges.
