Accountability Concepts Application And Public Sector Accountability

ACCOUNTABILITY CONCEPTS APPLICATION AND PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTABILITY

Chapter One Introduction

1.0 Study Background

The governor of Enugu State, Governor Sullivan Chime, stated that the main goal of the 2012 budget is to reduce overall levels of poverty in his presentation of the budget for the next year on December 23, 2011. The state administration understood the risks of postponing the gap between the rich and the poor in the socioeconomic scale in order to provide them both an equal playing field.

It has become crucial to cut unemployment and poverty in the state to the absolute minimum in order to ensure adequate social and economic integration. It meant a significant decrease in staff costs for us in Enugu State, the recovery of government funds that were correctly siphoned off during the civilian administration, an increase in internal revenue production, prudent expenditure, and accountability. Although a budget can be prepared based solely on what was accomplished the previous year, adjusted for any anticipated changes in the condition or scope of the activity, a well-conceived budgetary plan should encourage the executive to view his own operation more critically.

The primary distinction between the public and private sectors is that the former exists to provide services to its citizens primarily on a non-profit basis, while the latter is created and operated to earn a profit for its owner. Like every other state in the federation, Enugu’s annual budget is divided into two categories: recurrent expenses and capital expenditures.However, one aspect that has adversely impacted state budgets is the sharp decline in oil earnings during the past year.

Additionally, the state’s budgeting has continued to be impacted by the recent federal government ban on the state obtaining loans from either internal or external sources, as well as the high reliance on imports for capital goods and spare parts for vital raw materials. Others include an intolerably high rate of inflation and unemployment, low levels of productivity, and a poor ability to repay debt.This situation prompted the Enugu state administration to use the following tactics in order to realize the deduced objectives.

A The maximization of internal revenue by enhancing the systems and procedures for collecting taxes.

B) prudent spending management to preserve the emergency fund.

C focusing efforts on the execution and completion of a few chosen projects in diverse sectors, avoiding the common errors of spreading precious resources thin across multiple projects and gaining little to nothing in return.