Speaking on the e-payment directive given by the Federal Government to all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to henceforth pay all contractors and staff salaries through e-payment using banks, Agu said government needs to establish an e-invoicing portal to monitor compliance.
He said the e-payment directive is a good development which the state and local governments need to emulate. He noted that the government should have allowed for a phase period to enable a buy-in by government workers and contractors on the implications of the directive.
"We are glad FG is talking about automation and e-payment. We also need to ensure that government ensures e-invoicing. I believe the environment has to be created for e-payment and e-government. Trainings should be conducted and staff trained on the implications and benefits of the programme."
He said the government is a major stakeholder in the activities of the private sector, therefore, its workers need to be educated on the technology solutions from the private sector that will drive e-payment. "There are solutions from the private sector. There is need to automate the public sector butt the government employees need to be educated on how to use these solutions."
The Federal Government, from January 2009 adopted e-payment in the monitoring of its budget. This includes the payment of workers salaries, payment of federal government contractors and other recurrent expenditures in the budget which would be made and monitored by the deployment of information technology systems to coordinate the activities of all the MDAs.
President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua while presenting the 2009 budget to the joint session of the national assembly said "Recurrent expenditure on personnel will be controlled with the deployment of information technology, by way of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), to all the MDAs."
Already, three of the country's leading information technology companies are now involved a fierce battle to control most of the e-payment accounts of the federal government's ministries,departments and agencies (MDAs).
The companies are Systemspecs Limited, West Africa's leading human resource and payroll solutions maker; Interswitch Nigeria Limited, Nigeria's leading e-payment switching and transaction provider and eTranzact Nigeria Limited, mobile e-payment solutions switching and service provider.
Each of them have their own distinct e-payment solution packages targeted at meeting the federal government's resolve to implement an e-payment system whereby all salaries and contract payments would be done electronically.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Aaron Ukodie
Quelle/Source: AllAfrica, 09.02.2009
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