The Accountant-General of the Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo, said in Abuja on Monday that government would tackle issues that affected effective and efficient implementation of e-payment system.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government introduced the e-payment system in January 1, 2009.

Dankwambo gave the assurance at a two-day training workshop on e-payment with the theme “e-Payment System and Public Financing Management Reporting System as Tool for Achieving Transparency in Government’’.

“Generally some of the problems which include delay in payment and customers getting value for services rendered are mainly human challenges.

“We are still battling with the human aspect of e-payment; there are still people who are not yet at home with the e-payment system.

“We will continue to dialogue with this people, we will continue to perfect the e-payment system to make it acceptable.

“We will also continue to train and retrain people and personnel who are working in the cause of implementing e-payment system so that the implementation will be smooth, challenges and the human factor minimised,” he said.

He added that issues of national network where everybody would hook up for the purpose of clearing and processing transaction was still on the platform.

This, he said, when finished by the end of 2010 would help eliminate some of the major challenges and enhance the e-payment system.

He said the main objective of organising the Forum was to broaden knowledge on the tools that could effectively be deployed to achieve transparency in government.

According to him, implementation of e-payment brought elimination of use of cash to facilitate speedy payments for all transaction, fast tracking the implementation of government policies through the elimination of delays in government payment system.

“Enhance transparency and accountability in payment system, achievement of economy and efficiency in government financial transactions among others,’’ he said.

Dankwambo noted that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the Federal Government had fully adopted the e-payment system.

In his keynote address, Mr Achi Achinuvu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, said that considerable progress had been made over one year in realising the objectives that formed the basis for adopting e-payment.

“Such objectives include the elimination of unacceptable delays in the payment of contractors, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and staff claims, interaction between contractors and government officials thus eliminating corrupt tendencies.

“It has fast tracked the process of implementation of government activities and removal of unnecessary bottleneck and ensured that audit trails of all payment can easily be traced to relevant accounts of individuals or companies that operate them,’’ he said.

He noted that there was need for accounting personnel in the public sector to brace to the international standard of financial reporting as it would enhance transparency in government.

He added that the Federal Government had planned Integrated Financial management Information System (GIFMIS) as steps to ensure accountability in government

“GIFMIS planned to take off in 2011, involves the computerisation of public financial management process, from budget preparation and execution to accounting and reporting with the help of an integrated system for financial management of line ministries, spending agencies and other public sector operation,’’ he said.

He tasked stakeholders to make meaningful contribution to enable the forum come out with issues that would help government achieve its goal of transparency, probity and accountability.

The Forum was organised Accountant –Generals of Nigeria in collaboration with the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the World Bank.

Participant were Accounting Officers drawn from federal, state and local government areas across the country.