Oxfam Train Finance Officials On Enhanced Accounting And Budgeting Modalities in Taraba

Oxfam train finance officials on enhanced accounting and budgeting modalities in Taraba.

From Umar Dankano.

An International Non governmental organization,Oxfam in conjunction with Taraba state government has held a three day capacity building training for state, local government area Directors of finance and budget on enhanced method of accounting and budgeting systems.

Mr.Samuel Lashom, Project Officer of Oxfam in his remarks said, the training was organized under the Organization’s Strengthen Civic Engagement Platforms and Systems for Improved Services (SCEPSIS) project in the State with a view to promotion of good governance, improving serving delivery and enhancement of physical responsibility.

Lashom emphasized the importance of civic engagement in promoting good governance noting that the project has been instrumental in identifying capacity gabs in open budget practices through its comprehensive budget analysis for 2022/2023.

Lashom said that the initiative has revealed the urgent need to strengthen state budget practices including budget laws,institutional capacities and processes, integration with the state’s fiscal responsibility law, sector plans, budget call circulars alongside enhanced coordination across various sectors.

He advised the participants to be attentive to note the takeaways for creating a shift paradigm in civic engagement platforms and systems, ultimately leading to improved service delivery.

According to Samuel Lashom, Project Officer for SCEPSIS, the workshop is crucial for effective budget implementation, highlighting the need for civic engagement to ensure good governance for the target clientele.

Earlier Mr.Daniel Abah,the Oxfam project coordinator,stressed that, the workshop’s objective is to build the capacity of state, local government, and civil society organizations (CSO) officials on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

Abah maintained that the training would

Improve Consistency,Comparability and align state and local government financial and accounting systems with best practices through IPSAS.

According to Abah, the participants will have been impacted with knowledge on

enhanced Internal Control and Provide comprehensive information on costs to support results-based implementation of the local government plan.

He advanced that, the session was an opportunity to bridge those exiting gabs,

exchange ideas and forge a shared understanding on how best to drive reforms that will transform our systems and processes.

Participants as well as stakeholders interviewed at the venue including;Amina Ayuba, Deputy Director of the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and DanAsabe Ajiduku Ahmadu, Director of Budget expressed gratitude to the organisers of the training which they both admitted to have broaden their knowledge.