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Accountability & Transparency in Resource Management
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Accountability & Transparency in ResourceManagement A Presentation by Malam Hassan Muhammadu at the Occasion of the Training Workshop for Gombe State Senior Civil Servants held on 20th June, 2018 at the Auditorium of the Federal Collage of Education (Technical),Gombe
Definitions • Accountability is accepting responsibility for actions meant tobe measures using some predetermined standards -e.g. • accountable public office responsibility demands abiding bycivil service rules, financial regulations, stores regulations,etc. • • transparency concerns the declaration of an action or a set of actions in defined formats aimed at determining and measuring performance against intended outcomes using set standards -e.g. • transparency in public office demands the publication ofaudited financial statement to show how government raised revenues and managed public resources within a definedperiod. •
Tools for Accountability & Transparency • major tools for accountability and transparency in publicservice include: • civil service rules - define the way and manner civil servants are to approach their respective duties. it is intended at ensuring that work is done in a predetermined manner aimed atdelivering public service to achieve setstandards; • financial instructions - defines how civil servants and public officers are to handle cash and keep record of revenuereceipts and expenditure in anaccountableand responsiblemanner; • stores regulations - set rules on how civil servants andpublic officers purchase and keep record of needed items and how they are used ingovernment •
Public FinanceManagement Laws • In addition to the aforementioned rules and instructions regulating the behaviour and actions of the civil servants, there are somelaws that entrench the accountability and transparency of public service in order to ensure prudent use of resources for the benefit of citizens. theseinclude: • Appropriationlaw; • The fiscal responsibilitylaw; • Procurement law; • Pension reformlaw; • Finance and Management (Controls)Act;
AppropriationLaw This is the law that establishes the budget of the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) as passed by the State House ofAssembly. • • the manner of its preparation is guided by the Fiscal Responsibility Lawin the sense that it assumes a Medium-termframework: • setting the budget between 3-5years; • placing all the revenue and expenditure estimates within the reality of subsisting macroeconomic reality of the State and thefederation; • ensuring the expenditure estimates are within realistic revenue estimates accruing to the StateGovernment; • guaranteeing effective participation by all MDAs, NGOs, CSOs andthe Press •
Fiscal ResponsibilityLaw • This law guides towards achieving accountability and transparency ofpublic sector operations aimed at ensuring fiscal prudence. it provides theutility: • taking a longer term view of resource mobilisation and allocation toensure realistic performance and flexibility in revenue application - it assumes a Medium-Term Expenditure Framework(MTEF); • it evaluates the macroeconomy as it affects the State and situates budgetary provisions within the context of realistic economicexpectations; • it effectively engages all MDAs in budget preparation by providing with resource envelops within which they prioritise and plan theirexpenditure profile; • it ensures wide participation by representatives ofcommunities; • it guides towards achieving and maintaining sustainable debtlevels •
ProcurementLaw provision of public service is only done with a heavy dose ofpublic procurement. except public services implemented using direct labor, all services are provided by appointedvendors; • • the appointment of vendors, in turn, is guided by a set ofrules, whichinclude: • stores regulations for purchase, custody and disposalof procureditems; • financial instructions for keeping record ofexpenditure; • procurement guidelines that define the process to followbefore and after awarding contracts and when paying for services rendered under thecontracts; •
Pension ReformLaw this is an important piece of legislation that restructures themanner of dealing with retirement benefits of both serving and former employees it changes the use of “pay-as-you-go” pension system (defined benefits) to defined contribution scheme that ensures promptand continuous funding of pension and gratuity in such a way that the funds are placed with a competent, accredited private sector operator • • under such a reform, contributions are made by both theemployer and employee ahead of retirement period and the amounts so contributed are invested by the professional fund manager (Pension Fund Administrator) to the credit of the contributing employer •
Finance andManagement (Controls) Act This is a federal law that defines the realm of public financial operations in Nigeria. it was an attempt to implement this law that led to the formulation of the Financial Regulations at the Federal level and Financial Instructions at the State and Local Government levels. it is an oldlaw that requires modernisation having been promulgated in1956. • its expressions are contained in the Financial Instruction and some in the StoresRegulations •
Further Regulations for Public FinanceManagement • This section of the presentation mentions some tools that needto be implemented, which are being promoted by the Ministry of Finance for consideration of Government. Theyinclude: • Integrated Human Resource and PaymentSystem; • International Public Sector Accounting System(IPSAS); • Centralised Internally Generated RevenueSystem; • Vendor & Contract ManagementSystem; • Efficiency & Continuous AuditUnits; • Service wide Finance OfficersPool
Integrated Human Resource Management & PaymentSystem Although an end-to-end electronic payment system is already in place through which the State and Local Governments pay salaries using electronic format, we are advocating the use of an integrated system for human resource management that connects human resource databases of the State Government to the payment system in such a way that details about staff entry, performance, discipline and exit will be integrated with relative financial details to guide qualitative decisions by relevant officers intrinsically connected to staffPSN; •
International Public Sector Accounting System(IPSAS) • This endeavour is aimed at harmonising the reporting format for all State and Local Governments to ensure comparability using the National Chat ofAccounts. • Although we have already achieved this at the budgetary level, we are recommending the extension of this system to integrate with treasury function and the centralised IGR system suchthat effective performance on all budget heads and sub-heads get posted online,realtime; • this will ultimately lead to the automation of the ledgers in a way that all payments are done online, real time, trial balance are automatically generated on daily basis, and financialstatements are updated by the minute as each transaction go to nest at the appropriate head and/orsubhead
Centralised IGRModel this regulation has been implemented and is doing well as allphysical revenue receipts have been banned and replaced with automated receipts. • the process however requires continuous alignment to ensure that no semi- automated system exists for the collection and accounting ofIGR; • the system should totally plug all leakages all leakages and increase collection efficiency, it should automate tax invoicing and provide convenience to tax payers to enable them pay using whatever payment platform and device they choose with the assurance that the fundsactually get into government coffers without adoubt; • the process should also cover taxpayer enumeration to bring all informal sectors within the tax net in order to increase revenue generation through the automated IGRplatform •
Vendor &Contract Management this tool and intended regulation is aimed at automating the contract process by registering all contractors as vendors, by uploading their contract details covering the contractobjectives, values, valuation certificates, payments made, payments outstanding, performance status, date of completion, etc. all of which shall be updated online, realtime to guide effectivedecisions •
Efficiency &Continuous AuditUnits the implementation of this is demanded by the Federal Government’s Fiscal Sustainability Plan and the World Bank sponsored Fiscal Transparency, Accountability & Sustainability Program • it is aimed at cutting operational costs and ensuring compliance with financial rules and regulations in such a way that it allows Government achieve more with lessresources •
Service WideFinance OfficersPool This is an innovation aimed at creating competences at all MDAs to guide the preparation and implementation of budget, ensuring sustainable debt management, and achievement of the cost cutting measures intended by the implementation of theEfficiency, Continuous Audit units, as well as State Debt Management and BudgetOffices •
Conclusion In conclusion, it is to be noted that this is a high-level presentation summarising the meaning of Accountability and Transparency for civil servants. It also presents some of thetools that are currently in use in Nigeria’s public service aimed at ensuring accountable and transparent performance of civil duties by publicofficers. • Much more detail is needed to do justice to this topic thatcannot be covered by the time allowed for thispresentation. • in spite of lack of time, much has been done to highlight thekey issues that should be brought to light to our civil servants to enable them appreciate contemporary issues that guide the implementation of government policies within these fewslides. •
