Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun managed to explain the concept of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the benefits to the country. In a Keynote address delivered on Tuesday during the one-day workshop for State Accountants-General on TSA, the Minister explained as follows;
“I can report that work is now ongoing within The Treasury, to determine how much of these funds can potentially be utilised to part fund the 2016 budget and how much relates to pending commitments. This, of course, will reduce the amount to be borrowed The TSA, Mrs. Adeosun said, has provided the government with financial information on the revenues of agencies funded by government and has reduced revenue suppression.
“We believe that this will reduce payment delays to contractors, minimise late payment penalties and will consequently improve project completion times and service delivery.”
“TSA has corrected the practice of government borrowing short term funds at high rates of interest, whilst simultaneously having idle funds in various bank accounts.”
“By reducing the number of accounts in operation, monitoring and control has significantly improved.”
Managing Public Funds in the face of Global Economic Challenges
“I therefore urge the participants for this workshop to also discuss and brainstorm on ways and means of improving the revenue base of the country through full implementation of TSA and blocking of all leakages and improving the efficiency of revenue administration.
“The revenue base of the Country is still low and its administration still leaves room for improvement. This is bedevilled with a range of problems such as poor computerization, lack of skilled and dedicated employees, corruption, lack of awareness and of course unpatriotic conduct by some of the operators.
“This clearly indicates that the underlying assumptions underpinning the 2016 budget may only be realized with serious efforts put in place towards revenue efficiencies and expenditure discipline such as implementation of the TSA and Cash Management concepts by all tiers of government.
“Therefore, I commend the efforts of the OAGF and organisers for hosting this very important workshop aimed at sensitizing the States Accountants-General on the need to key into the Treasury Single Account scheme of the Federal Government.”
Take Home for the State Governments
“TSA will no doubt enables you to block all financial leakages and conserve more funds needed for development in your various States.
“I am also aware that some states are already implementing TSA. I urge those states to kindly share their experiences with the rest of you so as to encourage those who are yet to decide to take their first step in this direction.
“At the Federal Level, l can assure you that our experience has been worthwhile. TSA has Provided complete and timely information on government cash resources, Improved operational control on budget execution, Enabled efficient cash management, Reduced bank fees and transaction costs, Facilitated efficient payment mechanisms and it has also reduced the FGN Ways and Means requirement to bridge the budget funding gap.
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