PPDC was present in three local communities; Ijan, Ado and Ilawe in Ekiti state for a town hall meeting to fill knowledge gaps in monitoring projects and the procurement process in Ekiti. 

During the town hall meeting, our Community Based Monitors shared their findings on the monitored projects. 

1. Lack of needs assessment by the implementing agencies 

2. Contractors erecting structures without communication with community heads thereby not allowing any room for queries.

3. Community members not being aware that they can be involved in monitoring projects.

These issues were talking points during the engagement and duly reported to the implementing agency which is the State Universal Education Board (SUBEB). 

Click here for more on this conversation.

Higher Institutions Steal The Show In PPDC's Open Contracting Compliance Ranking

Similar to its Freedom of Information rankings, PPDC launched an Open Contracting Compliance Ranking (OCCR) that benchmarked Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on their compliance to disclosing procurement details as required by the Open Contracting Data Standards (OCDS) on Nigeria’s Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO) 

The MDAs were ranked based on the following criteria

1. Disclosure of 2020 procurement plans and the;

2. Availability of 2019 procurement records.

To ensure a fair and accurate process, PPDC enlisted the services of the Present Lab to validate the results of the ranking. The validation was done manually through the citizens portal on NOCOPO. 

Coming in first position was the Federal University of Gashua, and following closely in 2nd place was Usman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital. 

Click here to see how other institutions ranked and the methodology.

Budeshi Waka : Adamawa State

In September Last year, PPDC monitored and tracked National Primary Health Agency (NPHCDA) and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) projects in Adamawa. Our findings led us to visit the beneficiaries of these projects to discuss the importance of active citizens engagement in ensuring that projects are completed and fully functional. 

A key take away during the meeting was complaints from community Members who indicated their interest in getting involved in project implementation. They stressed the need for sufficient and timely details of projects to enable them to efficiently monitor on-going construction. 

Project Fixes: A Big Win For Kebbi  Citizens 

One of PPDCs main objective is project monitoring and this is done to track and identify gaps and improve the implementation of projects. To this end, PPDC has successfully monitored over 54 projects since the beginning of year and despite all the challenges that have been encountered, we continue to sensitize community members on their role in ensuring that projects work for them alongside proffering assistance to aid the process of achieving results.

Below are some project fixes to take note of;

Type 1 Primary Health Care Centre In Basaura Community, Kebbi State

This PHC in Basaura community in Kebbi State was built far away from the community making it inaccessible for the beneficiaries. 

Following our advocacy and follow up with releant stakeholders, the PHC has been renovated. We continue to work closely with stakeholders to ensure that it is fully equipped and functional.

In Sep 2020, our Community Based Monitors tracked and reported on the status of a PHC in Jiga Makera, Aleiro LGA of Kebbi state that was in dire need of attention. With consistent follow up and sending monitoring reports to the stakeholders involved, the PHC has been renovated and currently serves the community dwellers.

Monitoring Report of 144 Projects In 12 States 

At the beginning of the month, PPDC brought together Agencies in the Education and Health sector alongside Media houses and Investigative Journalists, to share and discuss findings on UBEC and NPHCDA projects monitored across twelve states by our Community Based Monitors. 

Click here for the full report. 

Is 48 million Sufficient To Buy Sanitizers?

According to reports from investigative journalists who used data from budeshi.ng to monitor Covid 19 emergency procurements, The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) reportedly spent the sum of N48 million for the purchase of hand sanitizer.

This procurement was to prevent and contain the spread of coronavirus among its personnel and Citizens.

The NSCDC, who categorized the hand sanitizer under the COVID-19 emergency procurement, says it is a 500ml Bottle, 10000 Milliliter Per Kilogram.

The procurement contract was awarded to a local company, Gracious Ruby Concept Nigeria Limited. Read more here 

The Public and Private Development Centre through the Macarthur Foundation support grant on education enlisted the services of its “Education Monitors” to track projects within Kaduna and Ekiti metropolis in August 2020.

Over 20 public Schools were monitored and the findings have been storified into blogs posts on our medium page. 

Click here, here and here for full information on the projects.

See full report here

Choose To Challenge: International Women's Day

TV Moments

Early this month, Our Tech Lead Vershima Tingir featured on the Moneyline show on AIT to discuss the use of Technology in Public Procurement. The Discussion centered around highlighting available platforms that simplify the contracting process by making it open and accessible to citizens. For more on this conversation click here.

Kobo Tool Box Survey 

PPDC is currently working on this interesting project on governments  procurement of digital technology systems, and we would love to get your feedback about your perception/experience on the topic,

Also help us get more responses by sharing the link here with your network.