In providing support for reform initiatives by public institutions, the Yobe state government has set up the Fiscal responsibility and Bureau of Public Procurement Boards.
Inaugurating the heads and members of the boards in Damaturu the state capital, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam said the Board of Fiscal Responsibility will monitor and enforce the provision of the law, as well as disseminate standard practices that would result in greater efficiency and undertake fiscal and financial studies among others.
The Bureau of Public Procurement on the other hand, “will consider, approve and amend the monetary and prior review threshold, consider and approve policies on public procurement, approve the appointment of the directors of the bureau, as well as approve changes in the procurement process, to adopt in improvement of modern technology.
“The development has earned the state commendation from various national and international organizations, development partners, concerned with financial trends in addition to providing support to reform initiatives by public institutions”
“The two new boards will also institutionalize comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of systems by tracking budget performance, establishing institutional structures, drafting policy framework and building human resource capacity,” the Governor said.
He also revealed that his administration had recorded various achievements in the area of public finance management, citing instances from 1999 to 2008, when the government was able to clear backlogs of its accounts.
With the support of the United Kingdom, Mr Gaidam mentioned that the partnership had helped the state to succeed in the development of medium term sector strategies in many sectors.
He further stated that the partnership had also contributed in the development of medium term expenditure framework as well as medium term fiscal framework, which will enable the Ministry of Budget and Planning to undertake thorough analysis of all capital receipt, with a view to making the annual budget realistic.
With the 2003 bio-metric data capturing exercise carried out in Yobe, the Governor said his administration was able to eliminate the ghost workers in the state’s payroll.
Mr Gaidam urged members of the boards to build on existing structures that would ensure the achievement of objectives, while expressing optimism that with the caliber of the personalities that made up the boards, they would succeed.
The inauguration also witnessed the swearing-in of six new permanent secretaries assigned to different ministries in the state civil service.