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Finance Officers at the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have been urged to stand firm and resist attempts by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) who may push them to spend outside the Assembly’s budget.

The Controller and Accountant-General, Mr Eugene Ofosuhene who gave the admonition said being bold, firm and dedicated to their duties remained key to protecting the public purse and ensuring sound and prudent management of state funds.

“Make sure you do not do things contrary to the law and be assured that we will protect you and resist any attempt to cause your transfer. We will not allow them to have their way, No it will not happen” he stated.

Mr Ofosuhene was interacting with the Central Regional staff of the Controller and Accountant General’s Department when he paid a working visit to the region on Wednesday.

He assured that the Department would support and stand firmly by its staff so far as they did the right thing and worked diligently, but would not countenance any unprofessional behaviour.

According to the Controller and Accountant-General, it was necessary to define the relationship between the MMDCEs, budget officers and heads of Departments for each to know their roles and limits.

He said the Department was entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring transparent public financial management system and supporting national accountability by disclosing to the public and government information and the state of use of public resources at all times.

He also encouraged the account officers at the district Assemblies to see themselves as part of the Assembly staff and involve themselves in revenue generation and mobilisation.

Mr Ofosuhene enumerated a number of policies and interventions being rolled out by the Department to enhance service delivery in the financial sector including; the Ghana Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) and the Electronic Salary Payment Voucher (ESPV).

The GIFMIS, he said, aimed was at improving efficiency, comprehensiveness and transparency in Public Financial Management and urged the staff to embrace the change to ensure rapid economic transformation of the country.

He said the ESPV on the other hand was to ensure integrity of the government payroll for the prevention of the payment of unearned salaries and tasked the staff to ensure that legitimate individuals were on the government payroll by impressing on heads of Departments to validate their workers.

Mr Ofosuhene said technology had become the global currency for international transactions and therefore advised the staff to join the bandswagon of computarisation or be left out of the accounting profession.

Mr Victor Donkor, Regional Director of the Department, enumerated the challenges staff faced at the regional office some of which included; office accommodation, transportation and inadequate staffing.