Group tasks Osun Govt on transparency, accountability

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

The Development Watch Network (DWN), a non-governmental organization, has urged the Osun State Government to prioritize transparency and accountability in public finance governance, open governance, and climate change mainstreaming.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of DWN’s one-day Annual Planning Retreat, signed by its Executive Director, Lameed Gafar.

The NGO noted that despite the government’s efforts to undertake development projects, there remains a lack of transparency in funding processes and citizen engagement.

“While the Osun State Government is undertaking various development projects, especially in the road sector, there is still uncertainty surrounding the funding processes of these projects, as well as citizen engagement and involvement in the selection, budgeting, execution, and monitoring of these projects.

“This gap has denied the government valuable citizen input that could have helped save costs and made the projects more beneficial to the public.

“While we welcome the government’s initiative to publish various projects online, we urge them to take further steps to deepen open government partnership,” the communiqué stated.

DWN also commended the government’s actions on climate change, particularly the establishment of a committee and office for climate change. However, it called for a more structured approach by creating a separate agency or department within the Ministry of Environment to systemize climate change policies.

The organization further urged the Federal Government to address environmental challenges, particularly in the Niger Delta region, and fulfill its commitments to global climate change and environmental frameworks.

The retreat also emphasized the need for the global community to increase climate funding and financing, particularly for developing countries.

It called for a concerted effort to build a multilateral approach to climate change issues, including climate financing, clean energy transition, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.