Ruth Oginyi
The government of Ebonyi State Friday commended the positive actions of USAID-State2State Nigeria in creating strategic reforms in some of the state ministries/MDAs.
Speaking during the quarterly review meeting of the Ebonyi State Transformational Committee (STC) held at the USAID-State2State office in Abakaliki, the state Governor, Rt. Hon. Francis Nwifuru said that the partnership between USAID and Ebonyi State has brought many positive changes, especially in the areas of health, education, and WASH sectors.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Grace Umezurike, Governor Nwifuru noted that the review meeting is a key platform to assess the impact of intervention programs and uncover areas that require further attention.
“On behalf of Governor, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, I extend my heartfelt appreciation for the exceptional work you are doing in Ebonyi State. USAID has proven to be an outstanding partner, particularly in the health sector and other vital domains where their programs and implementation plans have made a significant difference.
“This quarterly review is a commendable initiative that will enable you to assess your coverage and identify untapped areas. I must applaud the thorough assessment you are undertaking, which undoubtedly paves the way for even greater accomplishments,” She said.
Earlier, Dr. Sam Onyia the Ebonyi USAID-State2State team lead explained that they have supported Ebonyi State to achieve many reforms in the areas of public financial management, public procurement, internally-generated revenue, citizen participation, conflict management, but noted that there are still reform gaps that require the complementary role of the government.
He said S2S helped the government to develop a communications and IGR expansion strategies but the implementation has not commenced. He emphasized that the government still needs to commence the the implementation of the strategies.
Other areas according to him are the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF), the medium-term sector strategy (MTSS), the development of budget, procurement and audit manuals, revival of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) implementation in the state, the community charter of demand (CCD), development of M&E policy and framework, development of a 25-year State Development Plan (SDP) for sustainable and transformative development of Ebonyi state in the next twenty fivetwenty-five years, etc.
The team lead appealed to the line ministries to ensure that the budget provisions are made for the sustained implementation of these reform initiatives .
“Government should hire new staff with IGR skills to implement the IGR strategy instrategy too and order ttoo expand its IGR drive”. He said State2State helped the board of internal revenue to develop the strategy but the government is yet to implement it and urged them to strive for the implementation as it will help boost the IGR of the state.
Victoria Eze the local government manager for the USAID State2State , EbonyiI State, while speaking on engaging the new government of Ebonyi State on S2S interventions and the expected role and collaboration of the state transformational committee and the government to address the identified gaps maintained that relevant ministries need to work in collaboration with the state transformation committee.
In her submission, the permanent secretary ministry of Finance Mrs. Mfon Williams thanked USAID State2State for the help so far rendered to the state and said the current state government has already started implementing some of the reform gaps.
She encouraged the STC members not to relent in serving the state through the USAID – S2S activities.
She said the Ministry of Finance needs printed copies of thea budget manual to work with, and that the manual will reduce the workload as a layman can read it and comprehend.
She requested State2State to help in printing the copies of the manual for the ministry. She said the government is ready for budget automation as the state government has directed the automation of the state budget and its process is ongoing.
Ajah Oliver, representing the CSOs co-chairman of the STC said that the committee will work to ensure that the present government implements the open government partnership (OGP) action plan which has been signed off by the immediate past governor .
“We have done so much in terms of open government partnership and the immediate past governor signed the state action plan on May 25th, 2023 which is a milestone.
“S2S has been supporting many activities, developing policies, and manuals for the Ministry of Finance.
The OGP was signed on 25th May so for this new government, the STC shall intensify advocacy to ensure that the present government implements the open government partnership action plan”.
Mr. Ajah highlighted important achievements promoted by State2State, including the improvement of the budgeting systems and processes, enhanced fiscal transparency and accountability, and the implementation of more efficient planning and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) mechanisms among others in the state.//
