During the latest CoST Tanzania AGM, it was announced that the Africa Open Data Collaboration Fund (AODC) has awarded the national programme US$15,000. The funding aims to support CoST Tanzania and other grantees to build data communities, improve the delivery of services to citizens and achieve sustainable development goals.
CoST Tanzania’s project will design tools for CSOs operating at sub-national level to monitor procurement and implementation of infrastructure projects in education and health, focusing particularly on the construction of classrooms, dormitories and laboratories. The developed tools will be piloted before final production, ultimately being used on a larger scale and across further sectors.
Often CSOs do not have the technical capacity to understand and utilise infrastructure procurement language and its data. The tools will therefore enable CSOs to effectively collect data and assess the quality and value for money from public infrastructure projects. CoST Tanzania will also support CSOs in disclosing the data to develop accountability across stakeholders.
By creating tools that simplify complex data into easy-to-understand language, CoST Tanzania will boost demand for and usage of open data. The project commences in January 2016, with the tools being showcased at the International Open Data Conference in Madrid, October 2016.
The AODC Fund is coordinated by Open Knowledge as part of the Open Data for Development (OD4D) programme. OD4D brings together a network of leading open data partners working to harness the potential of open data initiatives to enhance transparency and accountability. To find out more about the Fund and its grantees, please visit the Open Knowledge website.
At the AGM, the results of the CoST Tanzania Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) elections were also announced. Mr. Kazungu Magili was announced as the new Chairman, having served as Vice Chairman since 2013. Mr. Magili initially joined CoST Tanzania in 2007 as the representative of Tanzania Civil Engineering Contractors Association (TACECA). He has previously served as Founding Chairman of the Business Action Against Corruption, an initiative from Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) under the auspices of the Commonwealth Business Council.
Eng. Julius Mamiro was elected as Vice Chairman at the AGM as well, having 34 years’ experience in the construction industry and holding an MSc Degree in Structural Engineering. The AGM ruled that all members of the MSG, including the new Chairman and Vice Chairman, will retain membership until March 2017.