House of Reps Directs FG to Publish Amount Accumulated in TSA

The President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government has been ordered by the House of Representatives to publish the actual amount so far accumulated in the Treasury Single Account (TSA). The lower legislative chamber also asked the FG to make available to it, the spending plan for the fund as well as a comprehensive list of abandoned projects from which such funds accrued. This directive was issued sequel to the adoption of a motion by Representative Adamu Kamale (APC- Adamawa), who stated that the FG operated what he termed a pilot scheme for a single account in 2012, using 217 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA), as a case study. He added that it is the success of the scheme that motivated the present administration to fully implement the TSA. Kamale said, “We are aware of the disclosure by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, on March 3, 2016, that from the execution of the TSA, a balance of N2.9 trillion has been accumulated from the MDAs.” He further argued that despite the federal government’s commitment to combat corrupt practices, eliminate waste in public finance and ensure adequate fund flow to critical sectors to facilitate development, some establishments were still left out of the TSA platform. Kamale added, “It is equally of concern that while Section 80 (1) of the Constitution regarding maintenance of Federation Account provides a broad legal framework, it does not address the operational details. ”And concerns have been raised by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC), about the possible sharing of TSA funds among the tiers of government. “It is regrettable that the objectives of TSA to institutionalise transparency, accountability and fiscal discipline in public expenditure may be negated if the plan for its utilisation is not made public.’’