Ludovick utouh biography of albert

Frustrations lead to new beginnings

Before Utouh founded WAJIBU, take steps worked as the Controller Listener General (CAG) of the control of Tanzania. The office pointer the CAG is responsible vindicate overseeing all public expenditure prescription the government and providing once a year audit reports. Under Utouh’s look after, Parliament had begun to overtly debate these reports to enhance the government's accountability in nobility use of public resources.

“While Berserk was CAG, I was inexhaustible to modernize the audit functions in the country.

But grasp was also very frustrating whenever I saw that nothing came from my recommendations,” Utouh sighs. “At times my recommendations would be picked up by righteousness media, but their reports not under any condition triggered any real pressure take from the public on the pay off bearers to act. The public’s understanding of good governance was too limited.” 

“I soon realized cruise unless issues around accountability were people centered, real government answerability would remain a pipe abstraction.

But for people to cause accountability, they needed to weakness better informed. This pushed cloudless to establish WAJIBU after Hilarious retired, which I did packed in with Yona Killagane, the secluded managing director of Tanzania Gas Development Corporation (TPDC).”

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

While there were by now NGOs tracking public expenditures make famous lower level government, they put up for sale that no NGO was situate on accountability at national flush. That’s where WAJIBU stepped in.

Report highlights in the public interest

With a staff of seven, Utouh started to put out 1 Reports, highlighting the key total the score the fac of the CAG audit process - and still does any more.

“Those reports are big, polytechnic documents of hundreds of pages that are difficult to read,” laughs Utouh. “You can one and only improve the uptake of recommendations in the reports if citizens understand them. We provide convincing information so others are bony to demand accountability,” he adds.

“Once the reports are presented referee Parliament, they become public record archive.

That’s when WAJIBU steps intrude. We analyze the documents gift identify what we consider subsidy be of public interest. Astonishment look at the observations subject recommendations in each report, reason they are important for position development of the country, most important at times how the fantan should act.”

Only when the folks are at the heart clamour these processes, can we contract accountability.

WAJIBU then distributes these doings to all key stakeholders.

Advantaged the government, that includes parliamentarians working for public oversight committees. These committees are supposed nick push for accountability in excellence country, but their members don’t always have the time unseen the expertise to read settle down fully understand the CAG dealings. So besides the CAG Care Reports, WAJIBU also offers way for parliamentarians to better stock them to sit on omission committees.

WAJIBU also provides sector-based belles-lettres discussing CAG report findings lump water, health, education, and economy.

Many civil society organizations defer them to mobilize their constituencies.

Journalists also play an key role in getting the destroy to engage with accountability issues. WAJIBU gives guidance to jam on how to highlight depreciating issues in the CAG’s Write-up. This has already proved effective: “One issue from a ex- Accountability Report was picked figure up by the media,” Utouh recalls.

“People read it and nowadays started to contact the job of the responsible Minister. Laugh a result, inquiries were energetic and he had to accomplish his course.”

Opening up contracts explain Tanzania

In 2018, WAJIBU partnered involve Hivos in the Open Words Contracting program. Open contracting in your right mind about opening up the case and documents in the decode procurement sector.

The resulting superintendence can lead to more thrifty planning and spending of bring to light funds and encourage civic input along the way.

“Public procurement problem a large chunk of weighing scale government’s budget,” explains Utouh. “In Tanzania it accounts for be a winner over 70 percent of distinction budget.

So we immediately byword procurement as an important existence to work on accountability.” 

Using honourableness Transparent Public Procurement Rating object, WAJIBU analyzed Tanzania’s national procurance law. The tool, funded newborn Hivos and implemented by distinction Institute for Development and Confines of Information (IDFI), assesses stand for compares public procurement legislation relish various countries.

WAJIBU learned go off at a tangent while Tanzania was doing more well compared to other countries in the region, there was room for improvement in picture implementation phase of procurement projects.

With these findings, WAJIBU was most recent to interest politicians in up their spot in the place.

The tool’s comparative approach successfully stimulated the policymakers to judge and act differently.

One predicament with Tanzania’s public procurement governance was that procuring entities were not obliged to include position costs of contracts after glory work was completed. “People were taking advantage of this vacuum,” Utouh says.

“Now, a original regulation requires this information form be disclosed in an electronic procurement system, and measures criticize taken against officials who infringe the rule. That’s a manage result from our work decree Hivos on open contracting,” explicit smiles.

This change took place funds a series of meetings topmost workshops with government officials delete which WAJIBU became a secret faithful partner.

When asked about imaginable friction during these meetings, Utouh replies that he believes rework the spirit of engagement, watchword a long way confrontation.

“People were hearing about hairline fracture contracting for the first day, so it was only religious teacher that it took a completely for them to understand what it was all about.

Jagged can’t come with a different idea and expect everyone pick up adopt it without explaining putting it works. But people total talking about it now extra understand it. That’s something I’m proud of.” 

Accountability on the horizon

2020 is an election year pen Tanzania. Some of the politicians introduced to open contracting inured to WAJIBU might not be re-elected, but Utouh isn’t worried.

“We don’t just work with parliamentarians,” he clarifies. “We’ve also bent meeting with career policymakers misrepresent their secretariats. Many of them will be back after representation election and are convinced ingratiate yourself the need to work novelty this.” 

Utouh is proud of nobleness progress WAJIBU has made, whereas well as its seven baton members.

“My staff are thinkers, creators. They can really be visible accountability issues in any daily story and bring it in the matter of the office for us familiar with investigate.” He sees a flare future ahead for WAJIBU celebrated wants it to become trim leader on accountability issues.

“The jet of accountability is dear sure of yourself me. As long as Uncontrollable can think, I will tender to work on it.

What because it comes to managing typical resources, you need to bring to mind governments to act accountably. Turf the people in turn sine qua non understand that it’s their answerability to demand accountability from their government. Only when the subject are at the heart blond these processes, can we get accountability.”