Senator tasks permanent secretaries on full implementation of budget

Emmanuel Paulker, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Service and Establishment, has urged permanent secretaries to ensure full implementation of their organisation’s budget, to improve the livelihood of citizens.
Paulker made the call at the Induction Training Programme for Permanent Secretaries on Friday in Abuja.
According to him, permanent secretaries are the key drivers of government operations and have a major role to play in budget implementation.
He said: “The induction programme will no doubt add value in bridging the gap between critical stakeholders and permanent secretaries.
“There is also the need to create a concrete stakeholder engagement platform to identify basic relationship challenges in budget process, policy development, implementation of reforms and judicious accountability in public expenditure management.”
He also encouraged participants to take advantage of the training and ensure good governance.
He, however, assured the participants of his commitment to upholding the ideals of democracy through effective law-making for the peace and order of the Federation.
The Head of Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita, noted that there had been recurring tensions between permanent secretaries and critical stakeholders.
She urged the participants to rebuild mutual trust and confidence among concerned parties to enhance efficient service delivery to citizens.
Oyo-Ita identified the roles of permanent secretaries as Administrative Heads, Policy Advisers and Accounting Officers in the various, Ministries Departments and Agencies.
She added that these roles were associated with a lot of challenges, especially in this era of dwindling financial resources and escalating competing demands.
She said: “For permanent secretaries to play their roles effectively, there is need to assist them to build their capacities by participating in programmes of this nature on a regular basis.
“This Programme has been carefully designed and packaged to address these concerns while giving permanent secretaries, the rare opportunity of interacting in a relaxed atmosphere.”
The Head of Service enjoined participants to be focused and make salient contributions to ensure that a new road-map was drawn for cordial relationships and increased productivity in the public sector.
In his remarks, Simon Timmie, Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission, charged permanent secretaries on improved bureaucracy in terms of staff dedication to duty, efficiency, transparency and accountability.
He explained that the burden of effective implementation of policies and programmes rested on the civil service.
Etim also urged the permanent secretaries to uphold the ethics, values and integrity of the civil service.
He said: “Permanent Secretaries must discourage all forms of rigidity and bureaucratic bottlenecks and ensure promptness in the discharge of government business.
“A permanent secretary should constantly furnish its political head with account balances and financial transactions.
“There is no doubt that this will go a long way in instilling a sense of confidence and trust between the ministers and the permanent secretaries.”