DG Urges Prudent Management Of Public Funds

Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Dr Abraham Nwankwo has called on all tiers of government to utilise public funds for the good of the people.

Nwankwo, who said this in a visit to  Umuahia stated this in a visit that the way to achieve this goal is to run a transparent fiscal management.Nwankwo’s visit to Umuahia was an indication that the DMO has intensified efforts to make Abia State Government adopt best practices in the management of its finances.

Speaking during a courtesy call on Governor Theodore Orji at Government House, the DMO Director-General explained that such practices would put the state in a good stead to access funds, not only from local money markets but also in the international market.He used the occasion to present the DMO template developed to enable state governments to set up Debt Management Departments (DMD) for the purpose of fiscal accountability and transparency.

You need to have credible base for borrowing from the capital market, whether local or foreign, because it would demonstrate that you have the capacity to utilise the funds well,: he said. He said  that governments should draw on the positive side of borrowing, saying that some developed nations depend heavily on borrowing to sustain their economies.Nwankwo specifically emphasised the need for Abia State Government to engage the right personnel for its DMD, especially gradates of Economics, Business Administration and Finance.

He warned that such staff be shielded from undue transfers. He also advised the state governor to take necessary steps to encouraged the state House of Assembly to facilitate the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Bill now before the House, pointing out that it would not only give legal backing to the DMD, but also guide the state government in adopting prudence, accountability and transparency in resource management.

While he encouraged state government to source funds by borrowing, the DMO boss noted that the cynicisms that usually trail such moves was due to the “unpleasant recent past” where governments borrowed money and misappropriated it, thereby piling up “unsustainable debt” portfolio.

Secretary to Abia State Government (SSG), Mazi Donatus Okorie, who received the DMO team on behalf of the governor, acknowledged the necessity for governments to utilise borrowed funds well to achieve good governance.

“When borrowed funds are judiciously deployed, the people are made happy, hence, it is a welcome development that DMO is there to guide not only the federal government, but also the State governments on issues of debt management,” he said.

He pledged that the state governor would do everything possible to facilitate quick passage of the Fiscal Responsibility bill into law, promising that the Abia DMD would be staffed with well qualified personnel as recommended by the DMO.