The launching of this app is to enhance accountability and responsibility in public office. Titilope Fadare, ConsTrack program Assistant disclosed that the app is available for download on both Google Play Store and Apple Store respectively.
Federal Government every year appropriates at least N100 billion for constituency projects of members of the National Assembly.
The ConsTrack app empowers citizens to track the implementation of constituency projects and it comes loaded with verified and validated information on the location of the projects, amount appropriated level of funding provided the implementing ministry, department or agency, status of implementation and the profiles of the legislators concerned.
With the knowledge and understanding provided by the app and the ensuing engagements, citizens are able to ask the right questions and “Demand to know how our commonwealth is being expended by government in the name of constituency projects.”
A defining feature of the app is that it allows citizens to track and directly report their findings on the projects either by text, audio or videos with their mobile devices in the comfort of their neighborhoods, communities and constituencies.
XXX With the knowledge and understanding provided by the app and the ensuing engagements, citizens are able to ask the right questions
ICT
ECA To Promote Digital Financial Inclusion in Africa Using ICT
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is partnering with Ant Financial (Ant) and International Financial Corporation (IFC) to promote digital financial inclusion in Africa using investments and technical capacity building.
Vera Songwe, ECA Executive Secretary, led Ant Financial’s CEO, Eric Jing, and IFC’s VP and Treasurer, Jingdong Hua, to a meeting with President Mulatu Teshome of Ethiopia.
Addressing a group of journalists right after the meeting, Ms. Songwe said “Essentially, we were talking (with the president) about IT and the power of IT for financial, social and political inclusion.”
The Executive Secretary noted, “Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 say we should leave no one behind, and many people have been asking what happens to SMEs with the AfCFTA. So we are thinking about what platforms we can put together to ensure that not only big companies take advantage of the AFCTA but also small companies.”
Ms. Songwe added that “We have an opportunity to leapfrog technology for social, financial and political inclusion,” adding “today, we are bringing Ant Financial, which has the largest platform for financial inclusion and assists people with very small financial capacity to be involved in the society.”
Ant CEO, Eric Jing, said the company reaches over 650 million people on a daily basis. He stated that “we have expanded well beyond China and are recording tremendous success in our effort to bridge the gap between the reach and the poor in many other countries such as India, the Philippines and more.”
Ms. Songwe also explained the importance of digital IDs, noting that “we have many displaced people and refugees on the continent without proper official identity. We know that without an identity you are not a complete citizen and life can be challenging. So we are trying to see how we can go from getting identities to getting financial and social inclusion particularly for youth and women.”
