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| Gov. Buni |
From JOE Hemba
After been rated as one of the best states for the State Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability(SFTAS), a World Bank Program on fiscal development project, Yobe state Governor Hon. Mai Mala Buni CON, has assured that his administration will keep the tempo in due process, transparency and accountability in government transactions in Nigeria.
An elated Buni according to a statement by his spokesman Mamman Mohammed said the governor was happy for the performance of the state for being rated as the “Overall Top Performer Award on State Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) won by the state”.
The statement noted that the governor has given his commitment to harvest on the gains of the award to have value for all the monies spent in the state.
"We are a state with low revenue and in dire need of infrastructure and services, we have to use our resources judiciously and transparently to achieve our set targets to improve the lives of our people" Buni explained.
The governor who dedicated the award to the Civil Servants in the state also commended them for their believe in his vision to drive the state to an enviable position on the national stage.
"I want to specially appreciate our civil servants who are the implementors of government policies and programmes and for being on the same page with the government to achieve this great feat. I dedicate this feat to all civil servants in the state. They made it happened, the Gov. said.
IMPACTONLINENIGERIA checks revealed that Yobe state was presented with the Top Performer overall best state among the 36 states of the federation at a dinner organised for the 36 state governors last week.
It will be recalled that, the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, at a celebration of the SFTAS Program’s successes said the Federal government celebrates the success of the SFTAS Programme and the presentation of the awards to best performing States in the successive Annual Performance Assessments was to spur the states to do more.
The event was attended by the World Bank Country Director Shubham Chaudhuri, Governors of Ekiti, Edo, Jigawa, Sokoto, and Ebonyi among others.
The World Bank authorised the four-year SFTAS Programme in June 2018, and it started in May 2019 to help states adopt fiscal transparency, accountability, and sustainability.
The original $750 million loan from the World Bank was divided into two parts: performance-based grants from the federal government to states for meeting the annual eligibility requirements, and the program results, or disbursement linked indicators.
SFTAS is intended to offer performance-based funds and technical assistance to states so they may implement the 22-point Fiscal Sustainability Plan and the Open Government Partnership.
Its goal is to encourage states to dramatically improve outcomes in four key results.
States are expected to achieve considerable improvements in four important areas: fiscal transparency and accountability; strengthening domestic revenue mobilization; raising the effectiveness of public spending; and strengthening debt sustainability.
Out of the $1.5bn released by the World Bank in two tranches of $750m each, the sum of N351.65bn had been disbursed to states that met the Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs).
The Finance Minister said that since inception, the SFTAS programme has enjoyed a high level of political visibility, adding that the initiative has continued steadily with strong performance and demonstrable high level of ownership by States and Non-state Actors.
Meanwhile, the Director- General, Yobe state Bureau for Public Procurement, Alh. Samaila Mai Adamu, has attributed the rating of the state as the Overall Best Top Performer state by SFTAS to the leadership role of Governor Mai Mala Buni on Due Process.
"Governor Buni has always insist that every project executed by the state government must be checked by the Bureau to undergo due process for transparency and accountability.
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I am glad that the Bureau has been performing its functions and responsibilities without hindrance or interference from the executive" he said.
Samaila said Yobe state also won the best state in Due Process, Accontability and Transparency award from the Association of Public Procurement Practitioners of Nigeria (APPPN).
"This SFTAS award is a confirmation of the APPPN award that Yobe state has now assumed a new leading status on accountability and transparency" Samaila said.
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