RSG Harps On ICT Compliance For Workers

Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has
said that the state government will no-longer approve ministry budgets that are
not Information and Communication Technology (ICT) oriented.

Governor Amaechi made the declaration during the opening
ceremony of a 3-week sensitization workshop on electronic budgeting, organised
by the state Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, in partnership with M-R
International Nigeria Ltd (a software development company) in Port Harcourt on
Monday.

Amaechi, who noted that most ministries only forwarded old
budgets with changed figures, stressed that “henceforth, only budgets that are
scientific or ICT-driven will be attended to by my administration.”

The governor also warned against including irrelevant items
on the budget, stating that “I will only approve the relevant fund for relevant
items.

On whether the electronic budgetary system will work the
governor said he will personally monitor the implementation of the
ICT-budgetary system.

Governor Amaechi also regretted that the government has
failed in her plan and vision to get all Rivers State civil servant to be ICT
compliant, adding that the plans are still ongoing.

“No worker will be promoted without the knowledge of ICT and
nobody will become a director or permanent secretary in the state, if he/she
does not have advance knowledge of ICT,” he said.

The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Hon. Gogo
Levi Charles, in his opening remarks, said the 3-week workshop with the theme.

“Sensitisation in the Planning, Implementation, Monitoring
and Evaluation of Budget,” is aimed at ensuring effective budget planning and
implementation.

Hon. Charles stressed that computerization of the
budgetary  system will save time, cost
and energy, adding that when the system is computerized, monitoring becomes an
easy task.

Taking the participants through the training session, the
General Manager of M-R International Nigerian Ltd Mrs. Lilian Amaewhule said
the system would enable the government to prepare the budget on time.

The Manager of the software development company said the
system would also enable the governor to monitor what is going on during budget
implementation.

She introduced the participants to the different methods
that would be used for the training, adding that different ministries and
parastatals would be trained on their stipulated days.