Segun Awofadeji in Gombe
Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya has signed an Executive Order No. 5 of 2020, which authorises the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in Gombe state.
This was revealed in a statement the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor, Media and Publicity, Ismaila Uba Misilli issued, disclosing that the governor signed the order on July 13.
The statement said the order was sequel to the resolve of the state government “to centralise and consolidate all cash and investment balances in banks and other financial institutions.”
It said the order would help track the liquidity position of the state in a single view as well as eliminate operational inefficiencies and costs associated with maintaining multiple accounts across multiple financial institutions.
It said the governor, by virtue of the authority vested in him by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and all other laws enabling him in that behalf, ordered the immediate and effective implementation and enforcement of the Treasury Single Account in Gombe state,
The statement said the governor “ordered the maintenance of main TSA in a single banking institution and maintenance of associated zero balance ledger sub- accounts where they exist in other institutions from where balances shall be swept to the main TSA in the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) or the appointed main TSA hosting financial institution.”
While the order directed the strict enforcement, operation and implementation of the TSA in accordance with the Cash Management Strategy of Gombe state that came into effect in 2019, the statement said the governor might revise or modify this order as he deems fit.
The statement said: “This Executive Order shall take effect from the date it is signed. The Executive Order identified some factors that led to the enforcement of the new financial policy which include weaknesses in the existing practice of preparing monthly payment schedules for governor’s approval in which budgeted resources flow to MDAs.
“Other factors are weak cash planning processes that hinder cash forecasting and its alignment with government spending, inability of the Treasury Division of the state Ministry of Finance to have a real time view of the liquidity position of government; thus hindering its ability to efficiently plan and manage idle resources as well as eliminate liquidity mismatch which has led to the budget deficit and poor budget performance.
“Gombe State Financial Regulations 2012, Gombe State Council on Procurement and Public Procurement Bureau Law 2019,Gombe state Fiscal Responsibility (Amendment) law, 2019 and Gombe state Internal Revenue Service and Revenue Administration Law (codification and consolidation) Law, 2020 provided the framework for the cash management strategy as well as enforcement of the TSA in the state.”
