Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
The Fiscal Transparency Working Group (FTWG) of the Anambra State Open Government Partnership (OGP SAP II) has renewed call for speedy transmission of Anambra State Audit bill to the State Legislature for passage into law.
They said passage of the bill into law will help strengthen the fight against corruption and ensure independence of the office of the Auditor General in the state.
The group made the call during an advocacy visit to the state Commissioner for Finance, Mr Izuchukwu Okafor, as part of efforts to ensure fiscal transparency and accountability in the governance of the state in line with its commitments.
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a global initiative with four thematic areas, launched in 2011 to bring governments and non-state actors together to work in partnership to improve democratic accountability, enhance civic participation, and improve service delivery.
The Fiscal Transparency Working Group commenced engagement on fiscal transparency, one of the thematic areas, after the Anambra OGP Action Plan II was validated with the support by UNICEF. Its commitments include: ensuring a participatory audit process which completes the budget circle and enhances transparency and accountability, amendment of the Anambra State Fiscal Responsibility Law, as well as enactment of an Audit Law, full implementation of the Public Procurement Law, and adoption of Open Contracting Standards. The third commitment is to improve the ease of doing business and Anambra state’s ranking in the Ease of Doing Business Index.
The meeting with the Commissioner for Finance was pursuant to the first and second commitment.
In the advocacy brief signed by its Chairman, Okey Onyeka and Secretary, Ugochi Freeman, the group believed that the passage of the Audit Law and establishment of the anti corruption commission would enhance the ministry’s credibility, attract investors and development partners, while also fostering economic growth and building public trust.
The group was led by its Secretary, Ugochi Freeman, who commended the Finance Commissioner for prudent management of public resources by promoting accountability and good governance in management of public finance.
“As the Chief financial policy maker, you have a unique opportunity to shape Anambra State Fiscal future. We equally appeal for the operationalisation of the state Fiscal Responsibility Law, when passed into law, to promote inclusive citizen engagement that can lead to better fiscal service delivery and improved lives for citizens.
“By supporting this law, you will demonstrate your commitment to: prudent financial management, transparency and good governance. We also advocate for real time proactive disclosure of financial reports including capital project release in a readable format for effective monitoring and tracking, just like it is in the National Open Treasury Portal.”
Responding, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Izuchukwu Okafor, disclosed that the much-anticipated Audit Law would soon be ready for Governor’s approval before it is transmitted to the State House of Assembly for passage.
“You talk about Fiscal Responsibility Act, Public Finance Law and financial regulations for the state. We still need to update our laws to meet the current realities including impacts of technological advancement. We need to domesticate the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
“But the mother of all is the financial regulations, which is like a policy. We’ve gotten approval to go ahead with it. We are engaging a consultant to handle all that.”
On the issue of proactive disclosure, the Commissioner said: “We always do that. Most of the contracts we award are open to the public with the cost of each of the contracts.
“We are being more prudent than our predecessors. We squeeze contractors to get value for whatever we spend on projects. Also, we don’t allow variations because we believe that’s open to fraud. We are getting much done with less resources. In all these, we don’t owe our contractors.”
On the request for a portal that contains government daily expenditures, the Commissioner explained: “We can’t go on building many platforms. What we are going to do is to integrate all of these efforts in our website. We are up to date with our reports and we don’t default.”
“I know there’s always room for improvement. We are trying to get the basics done first. Change is always difficult to accept. We are doing our best and we will continue to do our best.”
According to Mr Okafor, despite economic volatility, the Soludo’s administration has judiciously applied the resources available to the state.
“Transparency revolves around figure and value. We are ensuring that we get value from our spendings.
“Getting the funding is the most important thing in budgeting. Sometimes I laugh when I see media hypes about what has been given to the state. I laugh and wish we have that much, our situation would have been better,” the Finance Commissioner concluded.
