Sources told The Nation that 16 MDAs had keyed into the service; 18 are at the point of bridging the infrastructure gap and securing needed funds to begin the project that will allow them pay staff salaries and settle contractors online.
"It is good but the infrastructure have to be put in place. A company can have 35,000 customers operating in different banks, and will be credited or debited depending on the instruction at the same time. And the company can be using only one account. One can draw the money from the company’s account and distribute it to different beneficiaries. Today, 18 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) will be joining the e-salaries. Also, 16 MDAs have already joined," the source said.
In its commitment to e-payments, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) is stepping up the level of the Nigeria’s procurement reform through the commencement of the registration, categorisation and classification of Federal Government contractors, consultants and service providers.
Director-General of the Bureau, Engr. Emeka Ezeh, who spoke on the project said the registration is meant to revolutionise procurement and bring the nation closer to international best procurement practices.
The exercise, which is part of the bureau’s mandate as enshrined in the Public Procurement Act, 2007, will not only simplify the procurement process, but also "encourage more transparency and efficiency in the procurement process".
The objective of the database, he stressed, is to register, classify and categorize contractors, consultants and service providers as a platform of verification by MDAs, other entities, and interested organisations. It will also ensure that contractors, consultants and service providers of equal competencies and capabilities bid for specific jobs and the bureau is partnering with all concerned stakeholders to successfully develop this business model and infrastructure.
Engr. Ezeh emphasised that since its signing into law, the Bureau has been challenged by the need to effectively sensitise Federal Government functionaries, contractors, consultants, suppliers, service providers, civil society organisations, professional associations, stakeholders and the public about the provisions of the law and this planned registration is meant to create an electronic interface with stakeholders.
"We have also been concerned about deepening the capacities of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and their leaderships to attain full compliance with the provisions of the Act in order to leverage, harness and galvanize its fundamental objectives and principles to positively transform our developmental quests and the economy for the benefit of Nigerians," he said.
According to him, "the usefulness of the Act in Government’s obvious responsibilities, particularly in implementing strategic and sustainable plans to develop infrastructural facilities cannot be overemphasised. These facilities include Power, Transportation, Health, Education, Defence, Agriculture, and Water Resources, amongst others.
CBN Deputy Governor, Operations, Tunde Lemo said: "The progress made by the Federal Government in the electronic payments of salaries and contractors/suppliers, the growing acceptance among the citizens of innovations such as the ATM and mobile telephony and commitment by the banking community to improve the supporting infrastructure for seamless electronic payments were encouraging factors in the economy.
Other e-services being fine-tuned in the country is the e-dividend. It was sponsored by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and allows dividends to be paid simultaneously to shareholders through the Nigerian Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) bulk services. With that, shareholders do not need any dividend warrant. It was introduced because many shareholders especially the small ones are not collecting their dividends.
There are over N12 billion unclaimed dividends hanging in the accounts of quoted companies. For instance, if somebody has N500 to collect as dividend, and is based in Sokoto, he does not have to come to Lagos to get the fund as it can be paid directly into his account in any commercial bank within the country. However, shareholders of quoted companies cannot get value for e-payments unless the registrar know their account numbers.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): Collins Nweze
Quelle/Source: The Nation, 26.10.2011
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
