The Northern Regional Minister, Hon. Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu, represented the Minister for Finance at the Regional Composite Budget Hearings on the 2024-2027 Composite Budget held on Monday, October 16, 2023.During the event, he encouraged Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), Municipal and District Coordinating Directors (MMDCDs), and all Assembly staff to adopt cost-effective strategies to improve the efficiency of delivering essential services to the public.
The event, organized concurrently for all 261 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies across the country, saw the participation of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives, Presiding Members, Assembly Members, Regional Heads of Departments, MMDA staff, Civil Society Organizations, and the Media.
Hon. Shaibu emphasized the significance of the Revenue Improvement Action Plan (RIAP) as a valuable tool to enhance revenue mobilization for District Assemblies. He encouraged Budget Committees to explore innovative strategies and activities to achieve this common goal. He also called on MMDCDs to take the lead in advancing initiatives for improved revenue mobilization.
To enforce compliance with approved By-Laws and Rate Imposts, Hon. Shaibu stressed the importance of gazetting them, providing a legal foundation for pursuing legal action against defaulters.
Furthermore, he highlighted the role of Sub-structures (Sub-Metros, Urban/Town/Area, and Zonal Councils) established by law to execute delegated functions on behalf of the District Assembly, emphasizing the need to activate and strengthen these structures for effective revenue mobilization and the execution of their responsibilities.
The use of GIFMIS Financials was underscored as a legal requirement, not merely a suggestion, to streamline reporting, enable prompt decision-making, and eliminate audit irregularities. Additionally, Hon. Shaibu emphasized the need to prioritize ongoing projects to prevent expenditure commitments from resulting in judgment debt and significant expenditure arrears.
In the context of Capital Expenditure budgeting for projects in 2024, he called for arrears clearance, outstanding payment settlement, prevention of new arrears accumulation, and the speedy completion of projects, in accordance with the Public Financial Management (Public Investment Management) Regulations, 2020, L.I. 2411.
To enhance transparency and accountability, Hon. Shaibu urged that the 2024 Composite Budget, to be approved by the General Assembly, should be signed off by the Presiding Member and the Coordinating Director before submission to the Regional Coordinating Councils, and to the Ministry of Finance by November 3, 2023.