Tracka’s project manager decries poor implementation of constituency projects

The Project and Program Manager for civic technology platform Tracka, Mercy Danjuma has decried the poor implementation of constituency projects by lawmakers.

 

She noted that of the 3265 constituency projects tracked between January 2020 & June 2021, only 1,308 have been completed.

 

She added that 427 are ongoing, 643 have not started, 133 have been abandoned and 774 have unspecified locations.

 

The project manager for Tracka lamented the use of substandard materials, poor maintenance and others as some of the issues bedeviling constituency projects in the country.

 

Every year, the Federal Government allocates N100bn for constituency projects otherwise known as zonal intervention projects.

 

The projects are nominated by representatives either at the federal or state level for the benefit of indigenes at the grassroots.

 

It is also a means for citizens to feel the impact of governance in their communities.

 

These projects are implemented using taxpayers’ money.

 

Speaking during the launch of the report in Abuja, she said: “We have serious issues with the execution of some of these projects. Some of them included overestimated project, non-execution of projects and the obscurity of budgetary provisions.

 

“There is also the issue of the use of substandard materials. On the part of the beneficiaries, there is the issue of poor maintenance of projects, and lack of an effective monitoring and evaluation body, among others.”

 

The Tracka official also lamented the labeling of constituency projects as “donation” by lawmakers.

 

“There is also a scourge of elected officials labelling items purchased with tax-payers’ money as “Donated”, thereby creating an impression that the projects were executed with personal funds.

 

“We see this as a malicious attempt by the officials to deliberately misinform the people for selfish political interests,” she said.

 

While urging elected officials, executing bodies, and stakeholders who have a crucial role in nation-building to ensure that resources are effectively allocated and channelled towards improving service delivery in Nigeria, she said the organisation would continue to monitor the implementation of these projects to ensure value for money.

 

“Our focus is to ensure that citizens who are beneficiaries of these projects get value for money. We will continue to call out lawmakers who nominate projects for their constituents to ensure that those projects are properly executed.

 

“If we find cases where there are issues we will report to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). Taxpayers money must work for the citizens they are meant to benefit,” she added.