A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Tax Justice and Good Governance Platform, (TJGP), Bayelsa chapter, on Friday urged communities in Bayelsa to generate a charter of demands to effectively engage governments, politicians and development agencies.
Speaking during a town-hall meeting with Chiefs, men, women, youths and People With Disabilities (PWDs) in Agbura community, Yenagoa Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa, the Coordinator of TJGP, Ms Elizabeth Egbe, described the citizens’ charter of demands as an important document detailing the community’s areas of need.
Egbe said the NGO, with support from its partners, is poised to educate communities and carry out sensitisation as well as advocacy on ongoing projects and programmes of the federal and state governments and development agencies.
She urged the communities to take advantage of such programmes for the benefit of the people.
Egbe emphasised that the charter of demands will make politicians, governments and other development institutions to be aware of the developmental challenges confronting the community.
She added that when the document is finally validated, it will be a working document for onward presentation to the representatives of the people for action.
The Coordinator pointed out that the charter of demands will enable governments to know the areas to intervene when developing state budgets, maintaining that the document also serves for planning and prudent spending as well as targeted spending on projects to be executed.
“We are here at Agbura community to facilitate the production of citizens charter of demands for the community.
“We have earlier come for the community entry, so today we are meeting with the traditional rulers and council of chiefs, youth groups, men, women and PWDs.
“They appreciated our coming to the community and pleaded with us to help develop this document so that they can use it to engage their representatives and have constructive engagements with government, development agencies in order to attract development through the budget.
“We also use the opportunity to share information on what the government is doing in terms of the health insurance of the Bayelsa State Government.
“The Federal Government interventions and other World Bank projects with the Bayelsa State Government and so many other projects that the community did not know that were already in existence.
“We are so excited because at end of the day, we are coming back here to validate the charter of demands that was facilitated so once it is validated and signed it will be presented to the community officially and then we would support the community to present it to their representatives.
“We believe that by this time next year, things would have changed in the community because there would be engagement between the community and government and other intervention agencies which will be a win-win situation for government and the people,” she said.
The Paramount Ruler of Agbura community, King Bitychus Duafa, lamented the absence of drugs at the community health centre, noting that a situation where the people are made to pay as high as N6,000 for the treatment of an ailment like malaria, is unacceptable.
Duafa, while calling for the upgrade and provision of drugs at subsidised rate to give the people access to health care at affordable rate, appreciated the organisers of the town-hall meeting as this has opened their eyes on how to engage government, politicians and development agencies in attracting projects.
The Agbura community woman leader, Chief (Mrs) Love Theophilus, said that whenever there is a challenge, the community can approach the NGO in order to channel their needs to the appropriate quarters for action.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the generated citizens’ charter of demands consists of nine thematic areas of health, education, security, economic and poverty alleviation, provision of potable drinking water, employment, climate change, agriculture and housing and urban planning.
NAN
