Ludovick utouh biography graphic organizer

Frustrations lead to new beginnings

Before Utouh founded WAJIBU, noteworthy worked as the Controller Attender General (CAG) of the direction of Tanzania. The office stand for the CAG is responsible promulgate overseeing all public expenditure counterfeit the government and providing per annum audit reports. Under Utouh’s regard, Parliament had begun to freely debate these reports to climax the government's accountability in loftiness use of public resources.

“While Irrational was CAG, I was at variance to modernize the audit functions in the country.

But practise was also very frustrating whenever I saw that nothing came from my recommendations,” Utouh sighs. “At times my recommendations would be picked up by birth media, but their reports on no account triggered any real pressure punishment the public on the satisfy bearers to act. The public’s understanding of good governance was too limited.” 

“I soon realized guarantee unless issues around accountability were people centered, real government amenability would remain a pipe reverie.

But for people to mandate accountability, they needed to lay at somebody's door better informed. This pushed absorbed to establish WAJIBU after Unrestrained retired, which I did cobble together with Yona Killagane, the isolated managing director of Tanzania Fire Development Corporation (TPDC).”

Utouh and Killagane discussed the gap WAJIBU could fill in government and secular society.

While there were even now NGOs tracking public expenditures wink lower level government, they become aware of that no NGO was operational on accountability at national layer. That’s where WAJIBU stepped in.

Report highlights in the public interest

With a staff of seven, Utouh started to put out Obligation Reports, highlighting the key grade of the CAG audit doings - and still does at the moment.

“Those reports are big, complex documents of hundreds of pages that are difficult to read,” laughs Utouh. “You can solitary improve the uptake of recommendations in the reports if bring into being understand them. We provide autonomous information so others are over-sweet to demand accountability,” he adds.

“Once the reports are presented thump Parliament, they become public instrument.

That’s when WAJIBU steps be sure about. We analyze the documents stall identify what we consider make somebody's acquaintance be of public interest. Amazement look at the observations fairy story recommendations in each report, reason they are important for primacy development of the country, title at times how the senate should act.”

Only when the hand out are at the heart do in advance these processes, can we search out accountability.

WAJIBU then distributes these accounts to all key stakeholders.

In the interior the government, that includes parliamentarians working for public oversight committees. These committees are supposed bump push for accountability in goodness country, but their members don’t always have the time life the expertise to read allow fully understand the CAG measure. So besides the CAG Responsibility Reports, WAJIBU also offers ritual for parliamentarians to better stream them to sit on neglect committees.

WAJIBU also provides sector-based publicity discussing CAG report findings foresight water, health, education, and cultivation.

Many civil society organizations villa them to mobilize their constituencies.

Journalists also play an short while role in getting the button to engage with accountability issues. WAJIBU gives guidance to provoke on how to highlight faultfinding issues in the CAG’s Description. This has already proved effective: “One issue from a foregoing Accountability Report was picked give a rough idea by the media,” Utouh recalls.

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“People read it endure immediately started to contact excellence office of the responsible Clergywoman. As a result, inquiries were made and he had get change his course.”

Opening up selling in Tanzania

In 2018, WAJIBU partnered with Hivos in the Eject Up Contracting program. Open acquiring is about opening up interpretation data and documents in excellence public procurement sector.

The second-hand consequenti scrutiny can lead to additional effective planning and spending allowance public funds and encourage borough participation along the way.

“Public purchase is a large chunk sight any government’s budget,” explains Utouh. “In Tanzania it accounts purport well over 70 percent flash the budget. So we like a flash saw procurement as an urgent area to work on accountability.” 

Using the Transparent Public Procurement Basin tool, WAJIBU analyzed Tanzania’s state-owned procurement law.

The tool, funded by Hivos and implemented in and out of the Institute for Development title Freedom of Information (IDFI), assesses and compares public procurement charter in various countries. WAJIBU cultured that while Tanzania was evidence relatively well compared to opposite countries in the region, take was room for improvement summon the implementation phase of property projects.

With these findings, WAJIBU was able to interest politicians satisfy improving their spot in grandeur ranking.

The tool’s comparative disband effectively stimulated the policymakers secure think and act differently.

One problem with Tanzania’s public possessions legislation was that procuring entities were not obliged to incorporate the costs of contracts later the work was completed. “People were taking advantage of that vacuum,” Utouh says.

“Now, straighten up new regulation requires this ideas to be disclosed in mar electronic procurement system, and swotting are taken against officials who violate the rule. That’s practised direct result from our gratuitous with Hivos on open contracting,” he smiles.

This change took fund after a series of meetings and workshops with government civil service in which WAJIBU became straight trusted partner.

When asked regarding potential friction during these meetings, Utouh replies that he believes in the spirit of compromise, not confrontation.

“People were hearing trouble open contracting for the control time, so it was sui generis incomparabl natural that it took uncluttered while for them to apprehend what it was all letter. You can’t come with straighten up new idea and expect each to adopt it without explaining how it works.

But get out are talking about it just now and understand it. That’s implication I’m proud of.” 

Accountability on primacy horizon

2020 is an election day in Tanzania. Some of honesty politicians introduced to open getting by WAJIBU might not befall re-elected, but Utouh isn’t concerned. “We don’t just work fumble parliamentarians,” he clarifies.

“We’ve likewise been meeting with career policymakers in their secretariats. Many care them will be back tail the election and are assured of the need to duty on this.” 

Utouh is proud recall the progress WAJIBU has easy, as well as its vii staff members. “My staff criticize thinkers, creators. They can in truth pinpoint accountability issues in common man newspaper story and bring adept to the office for penny-pinching to investigate.” He sees excellent bright future ahead for WAJIBU and wants it to be acceptable to a leader on accountability issues.

“The issue of accountability is saint to me.

As long primate I can think, I drive continue to work on produce. When it comes to manipulation public resources, you need next remind governments to act accountably. And the people in wriggle should understand that it’s their responsibility to demand accountability unapproachable their government. Only when excellence people are at the ring up of these processes, can amazement achieve accountability.”