Osun Govt Canvasses for Civil Servants’ Support on Financial Management Law

Osun State government has called on civil servants in the state to support the Public Financial Management Bill and ensure additional inputs that would enrich the contents and provisions of the law.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs Adebimpe Ogunlumade who made the call at a workshop organized by the European Union (EU) and World Bank in collaboration with the Osun State Ministry of Finance, on Wednesday, urged the civil servants to make the actualization of the law a collective course.

The 2-day workshop was on validation of the Osun State Public Financial Management Law, 2016 where the Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Technical Directors, invited representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations and professional bodies were present.

Declaring the workshop open, Mrs Ogunlumade said: “May I use this medium to further solicits useful contributions from all the participants, most importantly in terms of quality, technical and professional inputs.

“For our dear state to continue to be relevant, fiscally compliant and absolutely support globally recognized Public Financial Management reform activities, the ministry and the state at large rely solidly on your contributions and inputs into the bill.

“Our Public Finance is guided by the Finance Control and Management Act of 1958; not only that the Act is outdated, it has failed considerably to be relevant with the current and modern realities, particularly on the use of public fund.

“This serves as impetus for all states to have Public Financial Management Law that will serve as ‘mother Law’ to all Public Finance res.”

Earlier in his welcome address, the Coordinator of European Union/ World Bank Assisted State and Local Government Reform Project (SLOGOR), Mr. Yemi Ijidele disclosed that the objective of the bill is to increase quality, transparency and accountability in the financial management of the states.

Ijidele said the sponsorship of the programme arose from the limitations due to weak Financial Management systems in the country.

He stated that the European Union in conjunction with the World Bank therefore chose six states as the focal areas for a thriving financial management system.

The states are Osun, Anambra and Cross Rivers in the South as well as Kano, Jigawa and Kaduna in the North. The National Planning Commission are the recipients of the funding of the workshop.

Ijidele disclosed that the inter-ministerial committee at the workshop would domesticate the Procurement Laws of Edo State that has been sponsored by the World Bank in order to fast track the development of a Financial Management Law that would stand the test of time and be in tandem with the best global practices.