USAID S2S Activity lauds Gombe for improved PFM Systems, Processes
The United States Agency for International Development,Contracting Officer’s Representative State2State Activity, Project Management Specialist, Monitoring and Evaluation,Peace and Governance office,Nigeria, Melissa Desai, has commended stakeholders in Gombe state for their commitment towards improving Public Financial Management processes
Desai made the commendation in an address, she delivered on-line, at the Gombe State quarterly Public Financial Management round table, held at the Emerald Royal Hill Hotel on Thursday.
While appreciating the cordial working relationship and partnership with Gombe state government towards improved service delivery,Desai called for more collaboration towards achieving an accountable, effective,transparent governance.
The State2State Gombe Field Office Team lead, Alhaji Mohammad Bello Abubakar, said State2State Activity has been supporting the Gombe state on good governance saying a similar PFM round table was held three months ago for better coordination to move PFM forward .
He said Gombe State government has been doing well since the intervention of State2State Activity and also lauded Non governmental Organisations for ensuring effective utilisation of public resources
The Gombe State Team Lead advised stakeholders to begin to think of sustainable plans so that interventions done, are maintained after the exit of State2State Activity for more economic developments activities in Gombe State.
The State2State Gombe Field Office Public Financial Management Specialist, Mr Oluwatosin Oke, said the objective of the roundtable is to review over all budget realism in Gombe State from 2019-2022 and generate insights to quide 2024 aggregate budget proposals.
“To review 2019- 2O22 Budget implementation performance for primary health care,basic education,water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), to improve 2024 allocation and releases to the sectors;to provide the opportunity for PFM institutions in the state to present updates on their respective roles and responsibilities in the management of public resources;to present the opportunity for non-governmental organisations to provide feedback and inputs on the citizens’ perception of the deployment of public resources and delivery of public services and to foster the relationship between government and the non-governmental organisations particularly the citizen’s groups as well as to identify and discuss ideas on how to improve Gombe state’s PFM system and processes,” Oke added.
Oke, in a power point presentation titled “budget realism in Gombe State-key considerations for 2024 budget preparation” stressed the importance of government developing a financial plan it can execute.
He added, “Budget realism warrants government to plan with realistic revenue projections,embrace good cash planning and expenditure prioritisation practices,adopt procurement practices that guarantee greater efficiency in expenditure execution and consider expenditure rationalisation where necessary to keep dept stock at a sustainable level.”
Oke said according to a public expenditure and financial Accountability standard implemented in the state under the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAF) programme, a budget is considered realistic,if deviation from the original budget is not more than fifteen percent.
He added that Gombe State attained budget realism only in 2021 which was boosted by a one hundred and fifty six percent performance in recurrent expenditure against fifty point zero percent performance in capital expenditure.
The PFM Specialist said key considerations for 2024 are “consideration of global and domestic economic performance outlook, adoption of realistic and reliable revenue forecasts,ensure total expenditure does not exceed projected revenue,ensure planned priorities continue to reflect collective ownership and ensure budget and implementation reports are clear and aid re-planning.”
Periscope Nigeria reports that representative of PFM service delivery institutions at the round table, presented the roles and achievements of their respective agencies in the management of public resources in Gombe State, and key challenges.
This gave other MDAs to be updated on the responsibilities and results of the MDA and deliberated on how the MDA can better work together to achieve the various PFM Reforms being implemented at the state level.
The roundtable also provided an opportunity for government institutions to receive feedbacks from non-governmental organizations on the citizens’ perception of the deployment of public resources and delivery of public service in the state.
Before concluding the roundtable, the state and non-state participants identified and discussed ideas on how to improve Gombe State’s PFM system and processes.
Participants were drawn from all PFM institutions in Gombe State, Gombe State House of Assembly, Office of the Head of Civil Service, CSOs, and the main ministries of health, education, and WASH sector.
,
