14th August, 2015
The Committee of Vice Chancellors of Federal Universities has expressed fears that the introduction of single Treasury Account System, TSA introduced by President Muhammadu Buhari may disrupt the operation of their tertiary institutions.
A delegation of the Committee led by Professor Michael Faborode, told Alhaji Idris Ahmed, the Accountant General of the Federation during a visit to his office yesterday that Universities by means of their operations and services should be regarded as peculiar establishments which should not treated as purely public service in function or categorized as revenue generating agencies and called for a review of the inclusion of the Universities in the TSA circular.
Faborode who spoke on behalf of his colleagues during the visit noted that the implementation of the TSA in the University system may distort the effective functioning of the institutions since according to him, government allocations are hardly enough to carter for the needs of the institutions.
He also told the AGF that universities collect third party funds for provision of services praying that this function should not be disrupted on account of the TSA implementation.
In his response, Idris allayed fears being expressed by the universities and some agencies of government that the directive of President Muhammed Buhari on the establishment and operation of TSA for the e-collection of Government Receipts for all the MDAs, will negatively affect the operations of some of the specialized Agencies, adding that the reform will rather improve their efficiency and increase the rating of the nation’s economy.
The introduction of the TSA according to the AGF, is not a punitive measure targeted at any government establishment or attempts to jeopardize the peace and stability of the university systems, but part of the reforms being introduced by this administration to institutionalize a more efficient and transparent management of public finances in the country.
He maintained that TSA is aimed at creating a single pool where all government’s receipts are kept in one account, thus making it possible at a glance to know the state of all the accounts for planning and execution of government policies.
In order to ensure a hitch-free implementation of the TSA, Idris revealed that the Office of the Accountant General has set up a special Committee to be headed by a Director, to address all issues or enquires from all affected MDAs and added that the committee will make sure the operations of specialized Agencies like the Universities are not hampered by the project.
He reassured the Committee of Vice Chancellors that Office of the Accountant General of the Federation will collaborate with the Universities to ensure that all matters that they have raised will be passionately addressed to ensure that the university systems are more efficient and are transparently managed.