Uche Usim, Abuja
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has described the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) as a huge success, with gross collection between August 2015 and February this year at N19 trillion.
She also noted that initiative saves the Federal Government over N45 billion monthly on bank interest payment, amid efforts to expand the scope.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Nigeria and the Republic of The Gambia, the Minister said TSA implementation has resulted in improved cash management capabilities, better alignment of borrowing with aggregate bank balance, mitigation of risks of inflation, ability to determine Federal Government’s consolidated cash position, better control and oversight, among other benefits. She encouraged the Gambian delegation to work assiduously to institutionalise TSA as it remains a catalyst for economic growth.
Ahmed said the cooperation with the Gambian Government seeks to deepen collaboration in information sharing and technical skills deployment in public financial management reforms.
“By so doing, The Gambia is properly guided as it implements its own TSA. The cooperation will enable The Gambia to leverage on the experience of Nigeria to build on our strengths while avoiding our mistakes.
“Implementation of TSA has benefited Nigeria immensely. On the monetary policy side, we have better control over money supply and therefore able rein in inflation and undue pressure on the Naira.
“Our foreign reserve position has also recorded appreciable improvement through the consolidation of Federal Government foreign currency earnings under the TSA. It is my expectation that The Gambia will enjoy all of these benefits if it diligently implements the TSA.
“Judging by the passion so far shown by The Gambia, I have no doubt that they are on the right path to a successful TSA implementation”, Ahmed explained.
She advised the Gambian delegation “to secure strong political support to deal with the heavy lifting that comes with PFM reforms”.
The Minister asked the Gambian Government to jettison TSA implementation if it was not confident of the buy-in of the topmost political leadership.
“It is the most potent antidote against the several headwinds that will try to undermine and derail your reform effort.
“Next in line is to assemble the right team of competent and committed reformers with in-depth knowledge of PFM. Upon that team will rest the responsibility of translating policy into action and by so doing, ensure that your TSA expectations are met…”