All the states in the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have agreed to reform the finances of states and local governments under a Fiscal Sustainability Programme (FSP) to ensure their long term viability.
According to a press statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Festus Akanbi, the 22-point fiscal reform action plan to be implemented by states under the programme, mirrors the ongoing public financial management reforms being undertaken by the Federal Government, including: biometric capture of all civil servants, the establishment of an Efficiency Unit, implementation of Continuous Audit, improvement in Independently Generated Revenue (IGR) and measures to achieve sustainable debt management.
The reforms were said to have been unanimously agreed to by state governors during the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting that was held last week in Abuja.
“The Federal Government is developing a financial support structure which will be directly tied to the attainment of agreed fiscal reform milestones. The ultimate objective of the programme is to ensure that states are set on a path towards fiscal sustainability”. The statement said.
The FSP highlights five key strategic objectives, followed by 22 recommended action points, with a view to achieving objectives around improved fiscal behaviour that will align both short-term and long-term sustainability objectives of the federal and state governments.
According to the initiative, starting from this year, all state governments are to abide by the FSP’s strategic objectives around the five key elements of Accountability & Transparency, Increase in Public Revenue, Rationalisation of Public Expenditure, Public Financial Management Reforms, and Sustainable Debt Management.
The Federal Government is developing a financial support structure which will be directly tied to the attainment of agreed fiscal reform milestones and the FSP is to ensure that states are set on the path of fiscal sustainability.
Under the FSP, states are required to publish audited annual financial statements within six months of financial year end. There will also be an introduction and compliance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
Also, stares will publish their annual budgets online as well as publish budget implementation performance report online quarterly from March, 2017.
As part of measure to make process effective, standard IPSAS compliant software will be deployed for use by all the states and local governments.
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