Districts given powers: MP

MINISTER for Finance and Planning Rainbo Paita says the decentralisation of financial powers has already started.
“By now you will have noticed that there are district finance managers already on the ground,” Paita said.
“Most districts have functional integrated financial management systems running on the ground already; you have accounts offices.”
He said these were some of the functions of the Finance Department that had already been devolved to district offices.
He was responding to Northern governor Gary Juffa who wanted to know when the devolution of some State functions in the Finance Department would be given to the provincial governments.
“Provincial governments do not have oversight over the funds that are coming into their provinces and districts,” Juffa pointed out. “Headquarters is not giving out proper audits on a regular basis; if a report is not tabled on a monthly basis, it should raise some alarms, but it doesn’t,” he said.
Paita said that capacity building was needed for the financial managers on the ground, whether in the districts or the provinces.
He said that the Finance Department was one of the first departments to devolve some of its functions and give to the districts and provinces and that the decentralisation was still a work in progress.
He said he would work with Juffa, as well as other members in order to build capacity where their provincial or district treasuries were concerned so that they did not rely on the Finance Department to step in.