Akwa Ibom News Online Commentary

Local Government Harmonized Staff Salary Payment System is highly required to extend economic development to the rural areas. It is a known fact that your Government has taken important steps toward improving its economic policies and has built on this progress to lay the foundations for sustained economic growth and improved living standards for our people. I appreciate government's strong steps to limit bank financing of the government and eliminate wasteful resources.

These actions are commendable but government still has to create more environment conducive for Local Government Employees, entrepreneurial activity and rural-sector growth which will go a long way to reducing poverty in our society through Local Government Harmonized Salary Payment system. The purpose of this suggestion is to recommend the introduction of Local Government Harmonized Staff Salary Payment System in the state. This payment system will enable the State Government to open staff salary account for each of the Local Government Areas in the state.

The State Governor, Commissioners of Finance and that of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs should be the only signatories. This document present an overview of the propose AKS Local Government Harmonized Staff Salary Payment System blueprint designs for payment and logistics process, it highlights the key decisions that underpin the designs, process impacts and schematic description of how the harmonized Local Government Staff Salary should be paid in Akwa Ibom State to add more impact to the employees and other members of the Local Government Area.

The State Government should set up committee to carry out a comprehensive staff audit of local government workers in the state to establish the authentic number of employees in each Local Government Area and the amount paid as staff salary.

Certain laws should be made to empower state ministry of finance to deduct the salary amount from each Local Government allocation and paid to the staff salary account which Local Government chairman has no access to. The State Government should select some banks to manage the salary Payment System. A section should be created in the Finance ministry that would supervise the process and ensure that all Local Government Councils send their monthly report on staff engagement and disengagement to the section.

All staff should be directed to open an account in the bank where their salaries are to be paid in, to enable them get their salaries. The bank should be directed to open their branch in the Local Government Area they are to pay the salary which will give other people access to banking activities.

Presently, The Local Government staff salary payment processes are mainly performed by each Local Government Area in the State. Most of the Local Government Areas failed to pay their staff as and when due despite the huge allocation given to them. Experience has shown that a lion share of the Local Government chairmen in the state failed to pay their staff about three months salary during the end of their tenure, thereby keeping arrears and debt for the incoming government. The history and complaints of salary arrears owed local government staff by past government in the Local councils is not new.

Currently, there is no harmonized Local Government staff salary payment system in the state, all payments for Local Government staff salary had been done by individual Local Government Area.

Overviews of the payment trends and their analysis shows that the present payment system de-motivates workforces and some Local Government Councils, there are arrears and debts, only by this harmonized system of payment of salary that we will have stable payment of staff salary for all Local Government Areas.

It is not yet possible to ascertain the benefits that would be derived from setting up this system, until Implementation of this system.

May I say here that; setting up a Harmonized Staff Salary Payment System will enable AKSG reap the benefit of high quality service from Local Government staff since they will be motivated by prompt payment of salary. This system of salary payment will give the employees access to bank loan, since bank will be sure that their salaries will come as and when due. It will also give the rural people opportunity to banking services, especially Local Government councils that has no bank in the area. It will avoid ghost workforces syndrome in the system if any since with bank, non workforces will easily be identify.

Putting this Harmonized Staff Salary Payment System in place will continue to eliminate time wastage and the otherwise costly repetitive process of initiating salary payment. The issue of prompt payment of staff salary in this system cannot be over emphasized and good quality of service can only be achieved with an alliance system put in place. It will also debunk some dubious claims made by past council chieftains that they have not been collecting allocation.

Akwa Ibom State government is committing his self to avoiding the mistakes of the past governments and has delivered humanitarian assistance to his people and they actually benefit from the assistance. More focus on economic development assistance to the people would help them raise their living standards and achieve the benefits of long-term economic growth instituting be this government. Establishing Local Government Harmonized Salary Payment system is central to this effort.

Effective budget Monitored Program should be created at the local level government to gives an opportunity to demonstrate its ability to implement economic policies designed to promote macroeconomic stability. This program will stress the importance of the program for improving economic policy and budgetary control in all local government areas.

With substantially better policy performance and financial accountability, Local Government Councils could tap into other development assistance as well. Policy performance and governance are rightly key determinants of the allocation of federal or state government resources. The Local government should continue to work closely with the state, federal government and other key players to help the Government lay the basis for economic growth and poverty reduction without fully depending on state government for fund.

Ekerete John Ekerete

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