Delta State House of Assembly has adopted the recommendations of its Public Accounts Committee, directing the twenty five Local Government Councils in the state to allocate more funds to capital projects so that rural dwellers can feel the impact of government.
It also directed the Councils to ensure strict compliance with regulatory frameworks governing their operations.
The House at its Tuesday’s resumed plenary, presided by the Speaker, Emomotimi Guwor, received the report of the James Augoye-led Committee on Public Accounts on the report of the Auditor General, Local Government, on the Separate Accounts of the 25 Local government Councils of Delta State for the year ended 31st December, 2022.
Presenting the seven-page report, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon James Augoye, said the Committee also recommended that “local government councils in the state should intensify their internal revenue generation efforts through the use of Information and Communication Technology, ICT, as well as draw up realistic budget and revenue targets to enhance their performance”.
“That all Accounts Staff or Schedule Officers be given proper and up to date training to ensure proper book keeping, check delay in rendition of General Purpose Financial Statements and regular updates of Bank Reconciliations”, Augoye stated.
The Lawmaker, who represents Okpe Constituency, said the Committee also saw the need for strict adherence to the provisions of the guidelines on the approval of advances to staff and projects.
He said “Advances of more than six months salaries should not be allowed and any officer with outstanding advance would require a written approval of the Executive Committee before further advances can be approved for such an officer”.
Augoye further stated that “Local Government Councils should ensure that non performing investments and dormant deposits are written off. There should be a need for continuous audit of the local government accounts to ensure early identification of lapses and effecting of possible corrections before final audit reports are issued”.
Hon Augoye, who appreciated the leadership and members of the House, said the opportunity to interface with stakeholders gave them a true and fair view of the activities of the Local Government Councils in the state, saying “the numerous observations raised in the Auditor General’s report and opinions expressed during the public hearings were quite revealing”.
The Lawmaker said the Committee in its findings, observed that the sum of 71.2 billion naira accrued to the 25 Local local Government Councils as revenue from all sources for the year ended 31st December 2022.
He said the approved budget estimates for same period under review summed up to 104.8 billion naira, representing sixty eight percent budget performance, which showed that funds received from the Federation Allocation Accounts Committee, FAAC and other sources were far lower than the approved budgets of the Councils.
Motion for the receipt of the Committee’s recommendations was moved by the Majority Leader of the House, Emeka Nwaobi and adopted.
The Speaker, Emomotimi Guwor, directed the Clerk of the House to ensure that the resolution of the State Legislature reached the Auditor General’s Office without delay
The Speaker commended the Public Accounts Committee for doing a thorough job.
