Morobe to use IT-based budget system

INCEPTION of the integrated financial management system (IFMS) under the Public Financial Management Act will capture and monitor all levels of annual government budgets to encourage transparency and accountability of public funds, a capacity-building adviser says.
The shift from provincial government accounting system (PGAS) to IFMS will also monitor discretional and non-discretional funds to districts and LLG presidents, unconditional grants to ensure money is spent according to itemised activities, said financial capacity-building adviser Francis Gumembi.
In Morobe, the IFMS will come into effect in January and monitor the entire provincial budget, district and LLG services improvement programme funds and internal revenues. All the deputy administrators, provincial programme advisers, district chief executive officers and LLG managers in Morobe are undergoing a five-day induction to IFMS.
Gumembi said Morobe would be the fourth province to implement IFMS at sub-national level apart from East New Britain, Central and Northern.
Gumembi facilitated the induction to educate PPAs, CEOs and managers to understand their annual activity plan as per estimated budget (revenue and expenses) and insert them into IFMS to access the funding.
The LLG and district budgets will be captured and aligned with provincial budgets and easily monitored from Waigani, provincial and district treasury on how money is spent.