Completion of Social Audit Orientation at Manthali, Ramechhap

A one day orientation program on Social Audit was organized by GoGo Foundation with financial support of FHI360/USAID under CS: MAP at Manthali, Ramechhap District on 27 July, 2018. The main objective of the event was to orient the CSO representatives on social audit mechanism and its significance in the present context.
Poshta KC, Program Manager, CS:MAP welcomed participants and highlighted the objective of the program. The program was presided over by the Executive Director of GoGo Foundation, Kedar Khadka while its Chief Guest was Prem B. Khadka, Chief, District Coordination Committee, Ramechhap. Altogether 28 participants including four female took part in the program.

Addressing the event, the chief guest said that the local elected bodies and civil society organizations should work together in promoting transparency and accountability. Equally important is the role of media which should bring the local issue to the forefront informing people about the status of district and its problems and challenges, he further added.

The other speakers who spoke on the inaugural session included Durga B. Shrestha, President, FECOFUN, Ramechhap Himal Dhungel President, Loktantrik NGO Federation, Milan GhisingPresident,District NGO Federation, PandavPrasai, President, District Bar Association, Ramesh Dhungel, President, Federation of Nepalese Journalist, Ramechhap and Kedar Khadka, Executive Director, GoGO Foundation. With end of the inaugural session, the participants dispersed for short break and converged into the hall for the technical session.

In the technical session, the resource person discussed the issues pertinent with social audit in candid manner. In the beginning, facilitator engaged participants in couple of individual exercises to map the local context exercise to gauge implementation status of the social audit tool in the district. The exercises were more focused on perception of the participants.

In the program, he also discussed about the challenges and problems encountered while conducting such audit at the local level. The other issues talked in the event included the differences between public hearings, social and public audit, process of social audit and why social audit is important tool to promote accountability and transparency.
Finally, the program participants reflected that orientation program was useful to re-orient on social audit mechanism for district level civil society organization. They also observed that program precisely focused on professional use of this tool. Finally, program facilitator emphasizes to apply this tool by the CSO themselves aiming to advance CSO accountability and transparency which ultimate promote the CSO’s public image.