Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru (left) and
Principal Secretary Eng Peter Mangiti at a past function. The government
has directed immediate adoption of a new Automated Financial Management
System for efficient management of donor funds in community driven
projects. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU
The government has directed immediate adoption of a new
Automated Financial Management System for efficient management of donor
funds in community driven projects.
Devolution and
Planning Principal Secretary Eng Peter Mangiti gave the directive to the
management of the Community Development Trust Fund under the Ministry,
which coordinates donor funding for various projects implemented through
community based organisations and private-public sector partnerships.
European Union and the Danish Government currently fund the projects under the programme to the tune of Sh3.36 billion.
The
government, through the Ministry of Devolution and Planning handles
donor negotiations as well as oversights and monitors implementation of
the projects.
The new financial and grant integrated management system was officially launched on Tuesday.
It
is expected to boost donor confidence on the use and management of
funds and grants that are released for various projects. It will also be
used in audit of funds.
The current system of use of Excel spreadsheets has been termed analogue and cumbersome, as well as inefficient.
Eng Mangiti directed the management of the program to ensure full migration to the new system by Wednesday.
“There
is a tendency that when a new system is introduced, people want to run a
parallel system. It’s not going to happen here, you must ensure full
migration from the analogue system without exception,” he said.
Head
of the European Union’s Social Affairs and Environment desk Dr Hjordis
D’ Agostino Ogendo said the new system will ensure trust among donors.
“CDTF is embracing modern technology and that is something that we as donors are very happy about,” she said.
She
said the donors expect that the system will improve the decision making
process. “Funds management will definitely be much more efficient that
it has been,” she said.
The Programme
Coordinator Eng Benson Sang said the system will also cover accounting,
procurement, human resource and payroll management to ensure
transparency and accountability.
Mr
Sang said donor support for the program has been increasing over the
years, justifying the need for a strong finance and grants management
system for integrity and accountability in the management of the
resources.
He said the current system was difficult to manage in terms of handling reconciliation.
“We
are confident that this system will provide the desired management
solutions for improved efficiency, transparency and accountability of
public resources,” he said.
CDTF has
funded and concluded over 783 community based socio economic and
environmental projects in rural and semi-urban areas in the country
through the program and is currently implementing a further 270
projects.
Areas of focus have
included poverty alleviation, emergency drought management,
environmental conservation, biodiversity and natural resource
management.
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