Bauchi MDAs, CSOs Brainstorm on CCD Help Desk for Improved Budget Performance

From: Bashir Hassan 

To further enhance Bauchi State budget performance inline with citizens needs, some select MDAs in the Health, Education and WASH Sectors of the State and some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in the Sectors have come together to explore avenues on how to further strengthen the efficacy and utilization of the Community Charter of Demands (CCD) document in the budget processes of Bauchi State.

The meeting of the MDAs and CSOs was facilitated by the USAID funded State Accountability, Transparency, and Effectiveness (State2State) Activity at a One Day interface titled “Community Charter of Demands Help Desks for CSOs.”

Speaking at the commencement of the meeting which was held at the Hazibal Hotel Conference Hall Bauchi on Thursday 27th June 2024, USAID State2State’s Community Engagement and Capacity Building specialist, Habila Salem informed the participants that the objective of the meeting was to enhance capacity of CSOs on tracking, documentation, and reporting of CCD projects in the 2024 Bauchi State budget. 

Salem also said that the meeting will seek to resolve issues related to CCD process and projects tracking, documentation, analysis, and reporting of CCD projects’ implementation progress in the state

The CECB specialist also disclosed that the engagement would look at the prospect and plan for CCD projects’ sites visit and midterm progress reporting.

Speaking with our correspondent on the sidelines, a participant Haruna Sa’idu Pali, representing a CSO known as Bauchi State Disability Network, said that such engagement is quite innovative and that he has been exposed to what the CCD document can do to the organisation he is representing. 

Pali said, as PWDs, existence of the CCD document in the Bauchi State budget preparation and implementation will provide ample opportunity for PWDs to have their priority needs captured in the state budget. 

He commended USAID State2State for developing the CCD document and also supporting the State in mainstreaming it in the budget processes. 

Our correspondent reports that the CCD is a written document that contains the development needs of communities listed in order of priority needs of the community as agreed by all groups within the community.