Sekondi Nov. 12, GNA- Miss Doris Ocansey, Deputy Chairperson of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), on Wednesday advised Regional and District Heads of the Commission not to spend over their budgetary allocations.
She was opening a one-day workshop on the Commitment Control System (CCS), a new financial procedure designed by the Ministry of Finance for district officers and accountants of the Commission in the Western Region at Sekondi
Miss Ocansey urged them to plan programmes that could be financed with funds allocated to them and not to draw up programmes that would involve over-spending and run into debts.
She said the Commission would not allow Regional and District offices to use their financial allocation to settle debt on goods and services which they did not budget for or are above their means, and stressed that, funds allocated to them should be spent on programmes that are output oriented.
"You should know how each programme would cost and budget for it to prevent running into debt", Miss Ocansey said.
She said the CCS was designed by the government to control government expenditure and regulate the expenditure of Ministries, Departments and Agencies and added that, the programme is a component of the Public Financial Management Reform Programme (PFMAP), which is part of the financial reforms of the government.
Miss Ocansey said the government embarked on reforms because of the inherent weaknesses in the country's financial administration. Some of the weaknesses were lack of financial administration and auditing, quality and timely data on government resources and proper regulatory framework, she said.
Miss Ocansey asked the participants to submit regular reports on how funds allocated to them were used and said funds given to them should be used for the intended purpose.
Mr Kwaku Baa-Owusu, Western Regional Director of NCCE, said accounting personnel are essential at all levels to ensure that resources are used efficiently and judiciously to achieve objectives of the Commission.
He urged the accountants to thoroughly understand the CCS concept to ensure proper planning and implementation of programmes within budgetary limits to enable the government and donors to get value for their money.
