“STEP UP FUNDING FOR AUDITOR GENERAL’S OFFICE”, NGO URGES A/IBOM ASSEMBLY
The Government of Akwa Ibom State has been urged to increase funding to the office of the Auditor-General of the state. The call was contained in a statement issued this morning in Uyo by Policy Alert (Grassroots People Empowerment Foundation), a non- governmental organization working to promote transparency and accountability in the management of public finances.
This was on the heels of complaints of inadequate funding by the Office of the Auditor-General during the on-going defense of their 2016 budget proposals by various Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs) before the Appropriations and Finance Committee in the State House of Assembly. The statement noted that the Office of the Auditor General is a highly sensitive one, with a crucial role in ensuring that budgets are managed in a more transparent, efficient and accountable manner.
Head of Programmes of the group, Tijah Bolton-Akpan said: “As an organization, one of the points we’ve repeatedly made is the need for the Auditor General’s office to furnish the House of Assembly with comprehensive half-yearly and year-end audit reports on the budget in a timely, transparent and regular manner. The predictability of audits is very important not only for the legislature to play its budget oversight role effectively but also for civil society in its budget monitoring efforts. Strong, effective and transparent audit institutions are also critical for building public confidence in the management of public finances.
“The current situation greatly undermines the capacity of the Auditor General’s Office to deliver on its statutory mandate and we call on the House of Assembly to act decisively on the request of the Office for increased funding.”
#AkwaIbom
0 comments :
Post a Comment