In a renewed bid to enhance community participation in grassroots developmental process through involvement in budget planning, Friedrick Ebert Foundation last week, held a two day sensitisation workshop in Osogbo, Osun State.The workshop which drew its participants from two local government councils, Boluwaduro local government and Osogbo local government including stakeholders in community development across the country, attributed poor implementation of budget to non recognition of the need to involve the end users of the projects at the budgetting stage.In the papers presented at the workshop, the presenters which included directors of finance in the local governments and civil rights activitists discussed concept and practice of participatory budget monitoring, budget tracking exercise, the monitoring, assessment of capital projects, the benefits, including practical exercises in budget monitoring information and dissemination.The four papers identified constructive engagement between the leaders and the led as panacea for the insensitivity of people towards issues that concern their lives.The paper presenters explained that lack of involvement of the end users of projects at budget stage often leads to the execution of projects not relevant to the needs of the people.They explained that the communities if invoolved would enhance public ownership of such projects thereby strengthening democracy.Speaking to Community News, a participant, Comrade Saka Waheed, while commending Friedrick Ebert Foundation for the initiative, explained that the workshop has opened his eyes to the rudiments of budget making and the need to be involved in project monitoring in his community for effectiveness.Another participant, Idowu Yakubu who was full of praises for the organisers of the workshop also said it has helped him to know his civic rights. He promised to spread the message in his community.Declaring the workshop open earlier, the Vice Chairman of Boluwaduro Local Government, Hon Isaac Oyekanmi, said that the workshop was well timed as according to him, it came at the time when government at all levels were bracing up for a new budget.In his remarks before the interractive sessions, the Executive Director of the Centre for human Rights and Ethics in Development (CHRED), Comrade Moshood Erubami, whose organisation facilitated the workshop, stressed the importance of the participants extending the knowledge gained to their various communities and local councils as a way of kick starting the process of nipping corruption arising from budget allocations in the bud. He stressed further that every participant should always aim at justifying the efforts of the sponsor, Friedrick Ebert at making community life better for the citizenry through democratic process.The highlight of the programme was the distribution of certificates of participation to the participants.
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