Salutations
- Mr. Chairman, Nana Kwasi Dwamena, Head of Civil Service
- Hon. Minister for Finance. Ken Ofori-Atta
- Hon. Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan
- The Controller and Accountant-General, Kwasi Kwaning-Bosompem
- Deputy Controllers and Accountant-Generals
- Directors of Accounts and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Finance Officers
- Distinguished Invited Guest
- Friends of the Media
- Ladies and Gentlemen
Greetings to everyone.
I bring you greetings from His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. It is an honour to join you at this Annual Conference that has brought together Accountants from all MDAs and MMDAs throughout the country. I have no doubt that right here in this room are some of the world’s finest Accounting Professionals, and I trust that this has enriched your deliberations so far.
The profession of Accountancy is no doubt anchored on Accounting Standards. I therefore take this opportunity to thank all of you who continue to keep to the professional standards in the execution of your mandate.
Your collective roles in The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD), is central to the financial management of the country. Government appreciates the effort the Department continues to make to provide sound Public Financial Management Services to the Government and the general public.
We are eagerly watching to see that you live your mission; that is, “We exist to provide Public Financial Management Services to the Government and the general public through efficient, skilled, well-motivated and dedicated staff, using the most appropriate technology”.
Mr. Chairman, the theme for this Conference; ‘the role of Controller and Accountant General’s Department in advancing the Digitalization Agenda of Ghana’ is very crucial in our quest to develop a robust framework to become a fully digitalized nation for the benefit of all. Public Sector Accountants will continue to play a key role in advancing this agenda.
Digitalization in the accounting field is about incorporating interactive technologies and transforming accounting processes from manual to digital to achieve efficiency, transparency and savings to the public purse.
I am aware that the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department is already taking steps towards the electronic enhancement of its business processes. Key measures include.
a. the continuous use of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS),
b. the upgrading of the Third-Party Referencing System (TPRS),
c. the Electronic Salary Payment Voucher (ESPV) system and
d. the E-Payslip system among others.
I must say that these initiatives are commendable, are in the right direction and are beginning to manifest in many ways.
For example, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department is now paying salaries on time and has facilitated the implementation of very key important government interventions such as Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) under the Public Financial Management Reform Project (PFMRP).
The development objectives of the PFMRP is very relevant to the delivery of judicious Public Financial Management under the wider Reform Strategy. This will invariably help in pursuing Government’s fiscal objectives and achieve its debt strategy.
In spite of the fact that a lot has been achieved since the Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo led administration was sworn into office in January 2017 there is a lot more to do with the support of every one of us. But for COVID-19, Ghana has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world for each of the last five years.
Mr. Chairman, in spite of the socio-economic achievements of the past, we are focused on tackling the challenges of the now and the future. Government’s efforts aimed at enhanced fiscal discipline, minimizing the fiscal deficit, tackling corruption and improving domestic revenue management remain unabetted.
The Ghana Card and Public Financial Management
This requires the continued support of Controller and Accountant General’s Department. As the adage goes, the reward for hard work is more work! One important work that has to be completed urgently is the linking of the Ghana Card to the public sector payroll to save the nation from wasting resources. This is one sure way of harnessing the immense benefit of digitization to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.
Ladies and gentlemen, Government is committed to cracking down on financial malpractices, wasteful public spending, bottlenecks in the management of public expenditure and the wage bill. We must all therefore prioritize the achievement of the targets set out in the Public Financial Management (PFM) Strategy.
Distinguished Participants, these conversations are important. I have had the privilege of going through the topics that have been treated and I am very delighted about them. It shows how committed CAGD is in supporting the digitalization agenda by Government for the good of the nation.
As we draw the curtain on the proceedings at this gathering, it is my singular honour to unveil the dawn of a new era with regards to the administration of official travels by Public Officials.
This initiative is designed to further consolidate the digitalization agenda of His Excellency, President Nana-Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo which has already delivered a number of successful projects including the Digital Address System, the Ghana Card Project, Mobile Money Interoperability, among others. From the Birth and Death Registry to NHIS, DVLA, Insurance and Passport, these projects are already positively impacting the lives of Ghanaians.
Our Digitalization agenda is not only focused on transforming how citizens conduct business with the government sector but also how the public sector in reverse conducts business with enterprises. The e-Travel Card Project seeks to end the era of cash for travel in the public sector.
The eTravel Card is designed to facilitate the cashless disbursement of travel allowance and other payments for local and foreign trips by government and other public officials.
The eTravel Card project automates and integrates all the processes from the point of initiation of card issuance requests, funding request from MDAs/Entities, through approvals and disbursement to the issue of the cards. It further provides expenditure tracking and retirement of accountable imp rest.
I am informed that the eTravel Card portal is to replace all manual systems of managing imp rest in the Public Service by delivering personalized cards to every Government Office and employee.
This will deliver the following benefits:
- Elimination of the risk of carrying cash
- Transparency and ease of accountability
- Timely retirement of accountable Imprest
- Improved monitoring and controls of budgetary allocations for official travels to avoid over spending.
I commend the transformational vision of the Honourable Minister for Finance and his team as well as the Controller and Accountant-General and his team for embracing and passionately pursuing the digitalization agenda of Government.
I thank the technical partners, banks and other stakeholders who worked tirelessly to ensure the seamless execution of this project.
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I use this opportunity to appeal to you all to continue to work to the standard of your noble profession for God and country. We should endeavour to adhere strictly to the judicious use of resources and the prudent management of public and donor-funds. Let us adopt the mantra that says Every day is a Day of Accountability.
At this point, kindly join me as I officially launch the GOVERNMENT OF GHANA E-TRAVEL CARD.
Thank you all
God bless our homeland Ghana.
