SHAWWAL 5, 1429 A.H.
FRIDAY OCTOBER 3 2008
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31 states establish DMD offices -- DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) said yesterday in Abuja that 31 states have established Debt Management Departments (DMD), to gauge borrowing from development partners and ensure effective use of the funds.
The DMO had in 2007, initiated DMD for the states under the National Debt Management Framework, to ensure prudence in borrowing and effectiveness in the utilisation of donor funds.
A Progress Report on the Establishment of DMDs in the 36 states, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said 30 states established the DMDs through administrative fiat.
One of the states, according to the report, established it through a legal framework, while the other five states were still at various stages of establishing the departments.
The Director General of the DMO, Mr Abraham Nwankwo, however, told NAN that all the states agreed with the idea of establishing DMDs and were at various stages of take-off.
According to the report, majority of the DMDs are operating under the ministries of finance in the states, while others are located in the offices of the state governors.
The report said all the 36 states had agreed to follow up on the federal government's example by enacting Fiscal Responsibility Legislation (FRL).
The report said FRL in the states, would be in a collaborative effort involving the DMO, Development Partners, Federal Ministry of Finance, Bureau for Public Procurement and state ministries of justice.
``The blue-print of a model Fiscal Responsibility Law for the states has been produced and exhaustively discussed at zonal workshops.
``Many states have adapted this blue- print to process their bills to the state assemblies. Two states, Lagos and Kwara, have already enacted laws relating to public finance management,'' the report said.
To further coordinate donor interventions, the report said the DMO had already designed a template for the operation of the DMD's and suggested consultants for its implementation.
The report said the DMO had commenced the development of another framework for monitoring and assessing the performances of all the registered consultants in the states.
``The frame work will provide the tools for ensuring ethical standards, prudence, objectivity, professionalism and peer in harmony intervention in the sub-national debt management,'' the report said.
According to the report, the application of the new framework will begin in January 2009.
Apart from the monitoring of consultants' performance in the states, the DMO report said it had started the coordination of interventions by development partners in the various states.
The report said the DMO had created an opportunity for some staff of the DMDs to do attachments with the DMO office in Abuja, to get exposure on its front , middle and back operations.
The report also said zonal workshops had already begun for the 36 states on the use of Exel for Debt Recording, which would ensure good record keeping and monitoring of funds meant for development in the states
