When Usman, ex-minister, took Lagos MDAs on monitoring, evaluation course

The spate of abandoned projects across the country would have drastically reduced if relevant authorities were alive to their duties on monitoring and evaluation.

To stem the ugly tide therefore, state governments have been urged to update the knowledge of officials in relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in this regard.

But Lagos State has however, been identified as the best so far in carrying out proper monitoring and execution of all projects in the state.

This was disclosed at a 2-day train-the-trainer course for officials of MDAs in Lagos State, facilitated by SUSMAN & Associates Limited, an economic, financial and management consulting firm.

Shamsuddeen Usman, a minister of National Planning and currently chairman, Susman & Associates Limited, at the training session, urged other states of the federation to emulate Lagos State, which according to him, has done extremely well in project monitoring and evaluation.

Usman, economist and banker, at the training course with the theme, ‘Designing and Implementing a Comprehensive Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System for Lagos State,’ decried the refusal of many states in the federation to conform to the internationally acceptable practice in project delivery.

On why many states in Nigeria may be performing below average in monitoring and evaluation of projects in their domain, Usman said whatever may have been the reason, “what I would advise them is that this is a global phenomenon now. I would say that such states need to move quickly to catch up with the international best practice. Lagos State has done extremely well and they (other states) have to copy what Lagos is doing.”

According to him, “It is not just about awarding projects; but there is also need for evaluation of policy. And there’s a lot you can get from policy that is well implemented. I must tell you that the whole essence of what we are doing is not just evaluate projects but also programmes and policies.”

He further said that the essence of the two-day technical workshop was to find out what the participants had gained from the previous courses they had attended and to what use they had been able to put them in their respective areas of assignments.

According to him, the goal was to “equip participants with relevant, up-to-date knowledge and skills towards strengthening the Lagos State government’s results based management (RBM) monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system.”

Listing the learning objectives, he said at the of the training, participants would be able to “understand RBM monitoring and evaluation system; understand concepts, methods, and tools for RBM &E system; understand data and data collection tools for RBM&E system; identify key stakeholders involved in their MDAs; select appropriate indicators for measuring levels of results; and develop MDA specific log-frame matrix, results framework and performance contracts.”

Usman also noted that, generally, “there is increasing demand for proving (accountability) and improving impact of government interventions.”

Earlier in his remarks, Ekundayo John M.O., director, monitoring & evaluation, ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Lagos State, who represented Bayo Sodade, permanent secretary, in the ministry, said that 10 pilot MDAs were selected for the training and that although the state had performed creditably, which had attracted commendations, there was still the need for Lagos MDAs to attain the best internationally in monitoring and evaluation.

Speaking with BD SUNDAY on the sidelines of the training, Ekundayo explained that before any project takes off or is considered delivered, the concerned unit looks at the project “so that at the end, value will be delivered for the money being expended. Although it is not a perfect system yet, by and large, I can tell you that 95percent of our projects in Lagos State are projects that were thoroughly monitored and evaluated before payments are made.”