Cross River: Fiscal Management Information System For Commissioning In Calabar
CALABAR, June 20, (THEWILL) - In its bid to achieve a prudent fiscal management regime in line with current realities, the Cross River State Government says it has completed the construction of a World Bank assisted state-of-the-art budget and treasury financial management information system.
Speaking while signing the delivery document of the project known as “go live” with the consulting firm in Calabar, the Accountant-General of the State, Mr. Henry Ojogu, disclosed that when fully completed, the one stop integrated financial management system which is initiated under state governance and capacity building project will amongst other benefits, enable the state to deliver an effective fiscal management obligation to the greater society transparently.
He maintained that the project which started since 2005 has finally come to fruition with the installation of oracle system components in line with World Bank requirements, adding that the new system will provide a platform that will allow Chief Executive Officers of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) access to their budget performance anytime through its interface on the net.
According to the Accountant-General, ten MDAs have already been uploaded into the network for the pilot scheme to fast track the process, contending that once the intelligent component of the system is fully installed with other MDAs uploaded and migrated, the state will be able to analyze and produce first, second quarter as well as half year report of budget performance to enable it integrate the 2012 budgeting.
Mr. Ojogu pointed out that training of the Chief Executive Officers and other relevant staff in the MDAs will soon commence to create the necessary buy in to the project by all and sundry to achieve the desired aim and objective of the exercise.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser on Budget, Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr. Peter Oti, who commended the consultants for delivering the project according to specification, said the success of the project was a demonstration of commitment and zeal on service delivery exhibited by the Imoke led administration and urged the staff to take their work seriously to enable government get return for its investment.
The representative of the consulting firm, Mrs. Rasheedat Kareem, said the equipment installed at the Centre is oracle enterprise product which has been tested to be best for fiscal management information system globally, adding that the necessary technical backing and support have been provided to staff of the office to enable them drive the process and successfully implement the project without hitch.