Why we introduced Treasury Single Account – Buhari
*Pledges sanctions against heads of MDAs engaging in fraudulent activities
*Tackling corruption requires a holistic approach – Finance minister
Philip Clement, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, explained why the Treasury Single Account was opened by his administration.
According to the President, the TSA was opened to address irregularities, ensure accountability, curb the incessant number of accounts and enable the tracking of all government revenues.
Buhari disclosed this on Tuesday at the third National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector held in Abuja. The Summit had the theme: ‘Corruption and the Cost of Governance: New Imperative for Fiscal Transparency’ and was put together by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“When we came into government, we found out that some institutions had hundreds of accounts. How can the Accountant General trace them?
“So, we introduced the Treasury Single Account so that all revenues will be followed and directed to it. This is a very positive way of making sure that revenues can be traced to Treasury Single Account and therefore be accounted for,” Buhari said.
The President, speaking on ways to address the critical challenge of the high cost of governance, vowed that all ghost workers will be severely punished and those who have engaged in illegal recruitments and those who paid their personal payrolls.
He said further that, “Government has noted that some MDAs have devised fraudulent practice of presenting new projects as ongoing projects.”
He promised that necessary action and sanctions will continue against the heads of such erring MDAs.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, also at the event affirmed that the current administration is determined to curb unnecessary expenditure hence reducing the cost of governance touted as a major contribution to corruption in the country.
The Treasury Single Account according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the operation of a unified structure of Government Bank Accounts, in a single account or a set of linked accounts for all government payments and receipts.
Delivering a paper at the summit, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, stated that tackling corruption in Nigeria will require a holistic approach for it to be effective.
The minister said: “The constraints imposed by corruption, insecurity and misgovernance on sustainable development are multi-faceted and require an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach.
“The Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning under my leadership plays a critical role in ensuring the funding requirements for the various MDAs involved in achieving this objective, including the anti-corruption and security agencies, are met in a timely and predictable fashion.
However, at the Ministry we envision our role as extending beyond facilitation to actively engaging in the design and delivery of initiatives which directly contribute to building the superstructure of good governance and security in Nigeria, all within the mandate of our Ministry and its agencies.
“The most recent GDP data which reports real GDP growth of 5.01% in the second quarter and 4.03 in the third quarter of 2021 are very encouraging news as it indicates the Nigerian economy is on a solid path to recovery. It is important to note that much of the growth was driven by the expansion of the non-oil sector of the economy where most Nigerians are employed.
“We recognise there is still much to be done and will continue to work closely with all the relevant stakeholders in Nigeria, to ensure an environment conducive to sustainable development.
On recommendations for tackling corruption in order to stimulate sustainable development in Nigeria, the Finance minister said: “Any national effort at curbing corruption must be holistic and all inclusive.
It requires the active participation of State and local governments as well as the private sector as the Federal government cannot win the battle alone. The legal framework in tackling corruption must be strengthened”.
“A situation where corrupt government officials exploit legal loopholes and technicalities to undermine their corruption cases in an effort to escape justice must be seriously redressed.
The judiciary, legislature and other stakeholders within the judicial system should take deliberate steps to eliminate legal loopholes in our legal system which corrupt officials tend to exploit in order to evade justice,” Mrs. Ahmed added while highlighting the relevance of synergy in tackling corruption in Nigeria.
The minister further stated that there is the need for the Executive to continue to strengthen the existing agencies fighting corruption such as the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in order to make them more formidable, functional and effective.
“These agencies should be supported to adopt innovative methods of preventing officials from stealing public funds through the deployment of Information Technology (IT). There should be judicial reforms aimed at improving the capacity of the judiciary to speed-up the dispensation of justice as far as corruption cases are concerned.
If possible, special courts and expedited trials can be introduced/adopted for corruption cases. We must design our judicial sector to meet our peculiar challenges and the ever changing face of corruption,” she added.
