Accountability workshop for Anambra Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries ends in Enugu

www.odogwublog.com reports that  the workshop for promoting accountability and transparency in the utilization of public financial and human resources in the Anambra State has ended in Enugu.

The 2 day training Programme for Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries in ten focus ministries in the state was on budget review and public financial management reforms.

 The  training is being facilitated by leading audit and assurance services firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) under the auspices of the World Bank-assisted State and Local Governance Reform (ANSLOGOR) Project.

 Addressing participants at the training, the state commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and Development Partners, Mr Mark Okoye, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Barr. Emeka Ohuoha commended His Excellency the Governor, Chief Willie Obiano whom he said has consistently demonstrated his resolve to thread on the narrow path of good governance by fostering strategic partnership with donor agencies for the overall development of the state.

 Mr. Okoye said the essence of the training was to secure participants buy-in into the budget and pubic financial management reforms which he noted will provide assistance to the state government in supporting systems that will improve its fiscal policy objective including the formulation and implementation of a Medium Term Budgetary/Expenditure Framework as well as a Multi-Year Budgeting Framework that will form part of the State's Public Financial Management system.

 According to the Planning Commissioner, ‘‘Undertaking a review of the state's budgeting and public financial management systems, will also help us to strengthen the budget process and machinery in the state and further animate government budget as a potent instrument of public policy".

 Mr Okoye further said that upon completion of budget reforms for the ten selected ministries, the state government will carry out an assessment of skills gap in budgeting, development of sector strategies and economic management generally in other four MDAs, including the Ministry of Economic Planning, Budget and Development Partners; the Ministry of Finance; the Office of the Accountant General; and the Anambra State Internal Revenue Service.

 Giving insights into budget reform activities, the team lead of the consulting firm, Mr. Olugbenga Oyewole said that the budget reform process encourages sub-nationals to move from yearly to mid-term budgets so as to have long term views thereby allowing governments to use budget as an instrument to achieve developmental goals.

 Speaking further into what goes into a well-performing medium term budget system, Mr. Olugbenga stated that well-articulated budgets make significant impacts on three levels of public sector outcomes, including aggregate fiscal discipline, resource allocation based on strategy priorities, as well as efficiency and effectiveness of programs & service delivery. He asserted that developing a comprehensive medium term budget system process requires a well-documented policy framework in the form of a State Development/Strategy Plan that is amenable to regular updates. This, he pointed out is the overarching basis on which sector strategies and resource allocations are made. 

Earlier, the Project Coordinator of the SLOGOR Project in the state, Mr. James Ifekandu said that through the project, the state government had made significant progress in its public financial management systems which, according to him, has propelled remarkable and verifiable development in all sectors of the state economy.