AFRICMIL Holds Stepdown Training On Whistleblower Policy For Anambra CBOs
The African Centre For Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) on Monday commenced a 3-day Step-down training for Community Based Organisation (CBO) in Anambra.
AFRICMIL is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) funded by McArthur Foundation.
The Centre called on residents of Anambra to key into the whistleblower policy of the Federal Government to make public office holders in the state live up to their responsibilities.
Mr Godwin Onyeacholem, Snr Programme Officer at AFRICMIL said the step-down training was to build public confidence for the whistleblower policy of the government.
Onyeacholem said there was need for community people to be aware of their expected role in the quest for good governance and ending corruption which had impacted negatively on their lives.
He said though some of them had useful information, they were not aware that there were platforms through which they could reveal them while maintaining their anonymous status.
Onyeacholem said the training was also an opportunity to introduce a project known as Corruption Anonymous (CORA) inaugurated in 2017 with the aim of using whistleblowing as a tool for fighting corruption and ensuring honest implementation of policy.
On his part, Dr Dennis Ekemezie, a Rotarian said whistleblower policy was a good anti corruption strategy which should be embraced by every citizen.
Ekemezie said those blowing whistle should be careful and protected as corrupt had a way of fighting bank in unfriendly ways.
He commended the participants from CBOs and urged them to increase the awareness of the policy in Anambra for better governance outcomes.
Mr Chris Azor, Chairman of Anambra State Civil Society Network (ASCONET), a major partner in the project said the first phase of the training would take place in the three senatorial districts of Anambra.
Azor said the Civil Society would continue to encourage people say something whenever they saw something while hoping that the relevant authorities including anti corruption agencies would respond appropriately.
“Whistleblower is yielding positive results, there is a need to step the policy down to the communities because corruption is actually more visible at the base of the society.
“We are in the era of Open Governance Partnership, we are making the communities to be part of the budget preparation process, so that they can track implementation and also know when to blow the whistle,” he said.
