Gombe Govt lauds USAID’s activity in promoting transparency
The Special Adviser to the Gombe State Governor on Budget Planning and Development Partners Coordination office, Dr Ishiyaku Mohammed, has said that State-to-State activity is building and improving capacity of public financial officers.
Mohammed disclosed that the support has helped to prepare a realistic budget, track performance and ensure optimal service delivery in line with Governor Inuwa Yahaya’s vision.
He stated this at a two workshop on budget profiling and Cash management for finance officers organised by State-to-State activity supported by USAID at Emerald Royal Hotel Gombe.
According to him, within the past year, the project had done well in supporting government to do adequate stakeholder citizens engagement ahead of budget circulation.
Mohammed said, “The State-to-State activity is also improving financial Management in the Education, health, water and sanitation sectors in addition to ensuring citizens engagement in Gombe state activities.”
The Special Adviser said the budget profiling and cash management training is timely, adding that Gombe State being among few states with a ten year development plan, made the plan meaningful, by preparing a medium term sector strategy.
He said the medium term sector strategy spells the mission, goal and objectives of a particular sectors’ activities captured in the budget hence if a proper budget profiling is done, it will ensure a realistic budget and track performance thereby making it accountable to the people.
The Gombe State Team Lead of the State Accountability Transparency and Effectiveness, State to State Activity, Mohammed Bello Abubakar said the activity would acquaint finance officers on budget profiling and Cash Management for effective budget implementation.
The State Public Finance Management PFM Specialist, Dr Eunice Ngozi Akpala-Okoroafor said since inception of the programme, Gombe State had made alot of improvement in it budget process especially in the planing Stage.
She said Gombe state followed through all the required steps from budget process up to the assent of the budget hence the training is to help the state actors execute their budget to achieve maximum impact within its available resources.
Akpala-Okoroafor said Budget profiling enables actors to prepare ahead of time and envisaged income and expenditure so as to make priority in order to avoid waste of resources.
She said for effective implementation, there is a Cash Management Committee headed by the commissioner of finance, Revenue Profiling committee led by the Chairman of Gombe State Internal Revenue Board and the expenditure profiling committee chaired by the Special Adviser on Budget, Planning and Development Partners Coordination office.
The PFM Specialist said the Revenue and Expenditure profiling committees report to the cash management committee in which it subsequently, reports to the executive council.
