The opaque circle and the lack of simplicity in legal terms that guide budgeting, taxation, and other fiscal process make it alien to a common man in Sub-Saharan Africa. This accounts for the difficulty in understanding governance and curbing in the region. Further making it lucrative for corrupt government officials, quacks, and tax fraudsters to create a series of corrupt acts that characterize governance today. As a result, we are poised with questions like: How do we open the system and encourage participation? How do we simplify the processes of taxation and build the capacity of start-up entrepreneurs? How do we follow the taxes collected to ensure that there is transparency in the funds collected through budgeting and Open Procurement?
FollowTaxes is a project of Transparency in Totality (TinT), that research new ways to redefine policy formulation around participatory governance. We simplified budget, taxation, and procurement as a weapon against bribery and corruption, and empowered communities with the right knowledge to ask questions. Not just pay taxes, but FollowTaxes collected by governments through government budget and expenditures and ask questions. With funding support from partners, we held several researched media campaigns and stakeholder engagement to enhance dialogue and capacity building to hard-to-reach communities in rural areas of Nigeria, Togo, and Niger republic to understand how to hold government accountable through Open Contracting Data Standards (OCDS) and direct engagement. So far, we have increased the capacity of more than 200 civils society groups and hosted 24 town hall meetings (Public Policy Dialogues – PPD), between government officials, and citizens across Nigeria, Togo, and Niger creating an avenue for stakeholders to voice their concerns, and together provide a remedy to revenue generation. Our PPDs have opened a door of communication between citizens and authorities, which hitherto those not exist or is opaque.
FollowTaxes Partnered with OXFAM (PROACT) to assess the nominated projects by communities in the Local government Development Plans of Kebbi and Adamawa states Nigeria. To evaluate the lessons and opportunities, and to advise the Local government on the effects of Public Finance Management. FollowTaxes also work with DFID-PERL to support the take-off and implementation of Kaduna OGP local towards accountable and responsive governance. It is a member of the steering committee of the Kaduna State, OGP-Local, and a member of the Technical Working Group in the implementation of the Nigeria National Action Plan in fiscal transparency and citizen engagement. FollowTaxes efforts are not limited to Nigeria, But it is part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. A network of young Africans with the skills and motivations to spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa. Between 2016 to 2018, it worked across the West African states of Togo, Chad, Ghana, and Niger to promote citizen participation in governance with the support of World Learning.
At followtaxes, we understand that working with just government in countries is not enough to make the difference without a wholistic three-tie approach. We Also, appreciate that transparency with the expectation that information disclosure will automatically result in improved performance is not true. This knowledge has always guided our strategic approach to tackling governance and financial challenges in developing nations. As partners of national governments and sub-national to improve open governance; We have always propagated a new approach of addressing the shift of ownerships of demand for better service delivery form elite INGOs and NGOs to communities and direct stakeholders.
