Copy
PPDC  Newsletter

View this email in your browser
99
PPDC Website PPDC Website
Budeshi Website Budeshi Website
Facebook Facebook
Twitter Twitter
YouTube YouTube
SoundCloud SoundCloud
LinkedIn LinkedIn
Email Email
Medium Medium
Dear Reader,

If all you did this year was survive 2020 then you have done so much. We can all agree that it has been quite a year. Against the backdrop of the global Coronavirus pandemic, the events of 2020 brought new challenges no one was prepared for, changing the way we live and how we connect with each other.

From the economic effects and catastrophic loss of lives brought on by the virus, to the outburst of rape cases and the transformative #EndSars protest, 2020 was as sobering as it was defining.

Through it all, We found a way to continue working on our commitment to promote citizens participation in governance while advocating for open government systems.

In this newsletter we will be highlighting the best part of our work for each month of the year and our goals for 2021.
President Of MacArthur Foundation, Mr John Palfrey And His Team Pose For A Photograph During A Visit To PPDC's Office.

In January, we started the year with a visit from our invaluable funder, the President of MacArthur foundation, Mr John Palfrey and his team. During his visit, we discussed our work on open contracting, our Budeshi platform and plans for replicating it in other African countries. 

A Cross-Section Of Participants At The 3-days Capacity Workshop

For the month of February, our Tech team, procurement team and Communications team took a trip to Ekiti for a 3-day public engagement with Civil Society Organizations, the Media and Professional bodies to build their capacity on access to information, public procurement, open contracting, data journalism, writing impact stories and project/ contract monitoring. In this gathering, Staff of Bureau of Public Procurement were taught how to enter data on their newly deployed procurement portal. The training was to ensure the optimal use of the state’s newly deployed open contracting portal by all stakeholders for their respective use cases.

Heads Of Departments Of The Procurement Unit In NEMSA Receiving Training On The FOIA (2011) 
The Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) joined the list of public institutions we trained on the use and applicability of the FOI Act 2011 in Nigeria. The training which held in March was conducted for all the Heads of Departments of the Procurement unit and was aimed at helping to improve access to information and creating a culture of transparency and accountability in the Agency. 
April came by with a strong wave of the pandemic in Nigeria. The virus forced us to pack up our office and work from home. In the midst of the calamity, many Nigerians expressed concern on the state of our health care system and whether or not our facilities could cater to the mass cases of covid-19. Mbanan expressed her thoughts in a blog titled “The dire need for functional health care systems in Nigeria amid covid-19”.  In line with this, the Federal Government of Nigeria  announced plans to develop an adequate framework to track donations toward combating the Covid19 pandemic and ensuring transparent management of the funds. 

By May, the number of confirmed cases had skyrocketed, and continued to spread across the country. This led, Private Entities, Philanthropists, Wealthy Business Men and Big Corporations had begun to send in relief materials and other forms of resources to reduce the health risks and place Nigeria on a strong footing for economic recovery. During this time, Nigerians had started to ask questions on how these monies  were being spent. PPDC CEO Nkem Ilo shared her thoughts in a blog that emphasized the need for accountability. The Bureau of Public Procurement also took a commendable step by issuing guidelines on the conduct of public procurement activities by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to ensure transparency and accountability of funds spent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was a breath of fresh air for us in June when we learnt we were amongst the shortlisted organizations for the One Campaign Africa Awards. The award recognizes Africa-driven and led advocacy aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with targets that range from halving extreme poverty, to providing primary education for all citizens of Nigeria. We were also involved in a few media rounds in June. Since the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) released its guidelines for procuring entities, we were all over the media advocating for compliance and educating Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and citizens on the need for public disclosure of information. We started with Channels TV, stopped by at AIT and we took it to the radio stations at  Public conscience radio and Vision FM 92.1

Tolani Weds Ayo, A Short Film On Rape Produced by Homevida.
As if dealing with pandemic was not enough, news broke out in July about a young school girl Uwa who was raped and killed while she went to read at a church. Rape and sexual assault have become an everyday crime in Nigeria yet it is the least discussed. In 2019 PPDC through its Homevida program produced a film about the rape culture in Nigeria. The film titled “Tolani weds Ayo” centers on rape and captures the societal perception of the subject alongside the willingness to evade the victim’s healing process in order to protect the family name and eliminate public stigma.

As a strategy to amplify and influence change in public perception of rape in Nigeria, HomeVida screened the short film in July to the general public consisting of film enthusiasts, government agencies, Civil Society Organizations, our social media audience, actors, and producers. The screening featured a high-level panel discussion with Mr Dayo Olaide (MacArthur), Miss Mary-Anne Adegoke (Actress/ Christaina Faith Foundation), Mr Edwin Ikhuoria (One Campaign) and Mr Godwin. E. Morka (NAPTIP) on demystifying the rape stigma in Nigeria. Find recommendations from panelists here
In August, we launched an upgraded version of our open contracting platform Budeshi 2.1. Budeshi is a dedicated web platform that links budget and procurement data to various public services using the Open Contracting Data Standards (OCDS). The Budeshi platform is primarily being used to demonstrate to public institutions the utility of using uniform data standards to publish and report information across stages in the procurement value chain.  Over the years Budeshi has continued to evolve by gathering feedback from users to improve its utility and the experience of its users. 

September started with preparations for our annual National Freedom of Information Rankings. The rankings are conducted with the aim of entrenching accountability and transparency in public and security sector institutions by ensuring Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) liberate data and citizens have timely and unrestricted access to public information. The event which is organized by 6 civil society organizations successfully ranked 213 institutions based on their level of disclosure. 

The Bureau for Public Service Reforms (BPSR) led the pack this year with 58.7 points. Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) came 2nd with 54 points and Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) was 3rd with a total of 43.5. Click here to see how other institutions ranked.

October came with mixed feelings for us. We were elated to have won the One Africa Awards and deeply honored to have competed with other deserving organizations. The award is a validation of the over 16 years of work we have put in to ensure that citizens participate in governance and have access to timely and usable information to be able to demand better service delivery. 

On the other hand, October was also the month that Nigerians were killed at the Lekki toll bridge massacre for daring to exercise their rights as Citizens in the form of peaceful protests. Even though things did not end up as we expected. Let's keep pushing our movements by asking questions, participating in governance to bring about the change for our communities. 

In November, we produced a report on all the work we have done over the years on improving open contracting, access to information, and procurement laws in Nigeria. The report looks at the role of the Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC) in promoting transparency throughout the procurement process through its activism, procurement monitoring, and provision of technical support to state governments. The launch was an opportunity to present key findings especially on how open contracting has helped shape procurement practices, improved data culture and responsiveness; but also in helping government institutions better manage resources in the delivery of public infrastructure.

Before we sign off for the year, we will like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to you, our dear friends and partners, for sticking with us through the tough season. To our esteemed funders we say a huge thank you for your constant support. 
 
We made it through despite all odds!
Here is to a very happy holiday season from all of us at PPDC.
Thank you for taking time out to read this months newsletter publication.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
An initiative of the Public and Private Development Centre

Procurement News archives available HERE

Our mailing address is:
Public and Private Development Centre · Block L, House No. 2, Plot 622, Mercy Samuelson Estate, Karmo District, Abuja · Nigeria

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Public and Private Development Centre · 1st Floor, UAC Commercial Complex, Abuja · Abuja 100211 · Nigeria

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp