Penplusbytes to feature on transparency assessment discussion

Accra, June 4, GNA - Mr Jeremiah Sam, Director of Projects at Penplusbytes, a not for- profit organisation, would be a panelist on USAID's Aid Transparency Country Pilot Assessment, scheduled for Washington DC in the US on Thursday, June 4.

The US is sharing data on aid flows through the ForeignAssistance.gov http://ForeignAssistance.gov website, and the assessment team is expected to make a presentation of the findings and recommendations from the three country pilot study; Ghana, Bangladesh, and Zambia.

Penplusbytes would provide additional insights and reactions on aid transparency and the issue of data use, after which there would be an opportunity for questions and answers.

In addition, participants would have the opportunity to explore the redesigned ForeignAssistance.gov website presented by the US Department of State.

The panelists include; Ms Susan Reichle, USAID Agency Counsellor, Ms Claudia Schwegmann, Team Leader of the pilot study, Mr Geoffrey Chongo, Programme Manager, Economic Equity and Development of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection in Zambia and civil society representatives,

Describing the Country Pilot assessment as 'an extremely necessary exercise', Mr Sam said: 'As an organisation dedicated to enhancing transparency and accountability in all spheres of resource governance, Penplusbytes finds this an opportunity to understand the focus of the USAID and other donor partners as guide to designing interventions that fall in tandem to ensure greater, expected impact on society.'

He said while in the US he would have a robust informal brown bag session with officials from USAID on the latest trends in using ICTs in Ghana to empower citizens to hold government to account.

The US Government's Aid Transparency initiative seeks to ensure greater accountability in government with specific instructions and milestones for achieving greater transparency, participation, and collaboration and this extends into the international community as well.

The conference is therefore a step towards fine tuning systems and structures that promote these tenets in the allocation and eventual utilisation of aid funds targeted at meeting specific needs, especially in the Third World.

Penplusbytes seeks to empower the media through the use of ICT to advance journalism in the coverage of governance and accountability, new media and innovations, and mining, oil and gas.

The ForeignAssistance.gov was created in response to the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and President Barack Obama's Open Government Initiative.

The goal of the website is to enable a wide variety of stakeholders, including US citizens, civil society organisations, the Congress, US Government agencies, donors, and partner country governments, the ability to examine, research, and track foreign assistance investment in an accessible and easy-to-understand format.

GNA