Govt stops cash, cheque payments, goes electronic
From Mathias Okwe, Abuja

HENCEFORTH, all Federal Government transactions requiring huge payments would be done electronically to the beneficiary's account and not with cash or cheque instruments, the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Ibrahim Dankwanmbo, declared yesterday.





The development is the cashless system strategy which the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, championed as part of measures to check corruption and enhance accountability and transparency.

And to give teeth to the new measure, Dankwambo yesterday directed all commercial banks in the country to dishonour any cheque instrument drawn by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) from January 1, 2009, because they have since been warned to desist from the practice.

He spoke while addressing Directors of Finance and Accounts of MDAs and other stakeholders such as banks and contractors at a one-day sensitisation on the new payment strategy.

The AGF recalled that enough notice had been given on the strategy, including the date of the presentation of the 2009 Federal Budget by President Umaru Yar'Adua.

Dankwambo said: " In order to implement the Presidential directive on e- payment, my office immediately commenced to work out modalities for easy implementation in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), MDAs and commercial banks. The concept of e-payment, which is a subset of e-governance, is not new in Nigeria because it is similar to the use of ATM cards, smart cards e.t.c, which are other versions of e- payment."

According to him, the objective of e-payment is basically to facilitate payment from one end to another through the medium of computer without manual intervention in putting the payment data.

" My Office, as a first step, issued a Treasury circular No: TRY\A&B8\2008 OAGF\ CAD\026\026\Vol.\11\465 of 22nd October, 2008 on implementation of e-payment from funds of the Federal Government of Nigeria which made it mandatory for all MDAs and agencies of government to commence the e-payment on 1st January, 2009.

" This was followed by detailed implementation guidelines for e- payment from all funds of the Federal Government of Nigeria. The objective was to further clarify the issues in the Treasury Circular.

I went further and signed a letter to the Governor of the CBN to direct all Commercial Banks to dishonour all cheques issued and dated from 1st January, 2009 as a demonstration of the commitment of the Federal Government of Nigeria in this regard."

At the meeting, CBN staff and Inter-switch companies were on hand to shed more light on the new payment procedure just as the revised detailed implementation guidelines for the e-payment was distributed to the concerned key staff.

Meanwhile, as the controversy over the actual amount recovered from MDAs as unspent capital vote for 2008 continues, the AGF yesterday announced that the mop- up is to continue till the end of June this year when it will be remitted to the consolidated accounts of the Federal Government.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/jan/29/14.html

Bad guys are already cracking their brains on how to circumvent and rubbish this policy again. Watch out!

Another good development!

About time. The pros definitely outweigh the cons. Nice one Nigerian govt.

This move will curb embezzlement to a certain degree.

chei!!! credit crunch go hit ghana must go producers

chei!!! credit crunch go hit ghana must go producers

Strict compliance with this will be a step in the right direction.

superboi:

chei!!! credit crunch go hit ghana must go producers

lol

Corruption at the click of a button!  With no signature forgery to worry about! Progress!!

Seun:

Corruption at the click of a button! With no signature forgery to worry about! Progress!!

Very true but we could always trace the account (where the money goes to) this time rather than looking for a physical amount of cash.

As usual, I come bearing questions so save me the usual stone throwing and get to answering the questions instead with detail and logic injected instead.

earTHMama:

HENCEFORTH, all Federal Government transactions requiring huge payments would be done electronically to the beneficiary's account and not with cash or cheque instruments, the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Ibrahim Dankwanmbo, declared yesterday.

Why just transactions requiring Huge payments? How huge? Why not handle them all through the same system?

earTHMama:


The development is the cashless system strategy which the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, championed as part of measures to check corruption and enhance accountability and transparency.

Does Cashless really mean anti-corruption? Last I checked the problem was not really about cash being used in many of these transactions but that records of these transactions where not being kept. Ask Yahoozees and they will tell you that the one does not necessarily mean the other.

earTHMama:
And to give teeth to the new measure, Dankwambo yesterday directed all commercial banks in the country to dishonour any cheque instrument drawn by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) from January 1, 2009, because they have since been warned to desist from the practice.

Were banks not keeping records of checks cashed in the pasts?

earTHMama:
He spoke while addressing Directors of Finance and Accounts of MDAs and other stakeholders such as banks and contractors at a one-day sensitisation on the new payment strategy.

The AGF recalled that enough notice had been given on the strategy, including the date of the presentation of the 2009 Federal Budget by President Umaru Yar'Adua.

Dankwambo said: " In order to implement the Presidential directive on e- payment, my office immediately commenced to work out modalities for easy implementation in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), MDAs and commercial banks. The concept of e-payment, which is a subset of e-governance, is not new in Nigeria because it is similar to the use of ATM cards, smart cards e.t.c, which are other versions of e- payment."

I have heard the mention of e-governance for so long now, can someone please explain what e-governance really means in the context with which it is being used here?

earTHMama:
According to him, the objective of e-payment is basically to facilitate payment from one end to another through the medium of computer without manual intervention in putting the payment data.

Auto-payments? Ever heard of glitches? So no one gets to sit and approve payments before they are sent out? How does this help curb corruption is what I want to know.

earTHMama:
" My Office, as a first step, issued a Treasury circular No: TRY\A&B8\2008 OAGF\ CAD\026\026\Vol.\11\465 of 22nd October, 2008 on implementation of e-payment from funds of the Federal Government of Nigeria which made it mandatory for all MDAs and agencies of government to commence the e-payment on 1st January, 2009.

" This was followed by detailed implementation guidelines for e- payment from all funds of the Federal Government of Nigeria. The objective was to further clarify the issues in the Treasury Circular.

How does this new system help curb corruption oooo!!!

earTHMama:
I went further and signed a letter to the Governor of the CBN to direct all Commercial Banks to dishonour all cheques issued and dated from 1st January, 2009 as a demonstration of the commitment of the Federal Government of Nigeria in this regard."

Are checks now bad in Nigeria?

earTHMama:
At the meeting, CBN staff and Inter-switch companies were on hand to shed more light on the new payment procedure just as the revised detailed implementation guidelines for the e-payment was distributed to the concerned key staff.

Meanwhile, as the controversy over the actual amount recovered from MDAs as unspent capital vote for 2008 continues, the AGF yesterday announced that the mop- up is to continue till the end of June this year when it will be remitted to the consolidated accounts of the Federal Government.

http://odili.net/news/source/2009/jan/29/14.html

I don tire!!

e-governance is another phrase that sounds fancy smancy to someone and everyone jumps in on its use with reckless abandone.

was i of any help.

Very true but we could always trace the account (where the money goes to) this time rather than looking for a physical amount of cash.

I laugh System no dey crash?. Now, they can get Seun to help them manipulate the database and erase important files.

earTHMama:

I laugh System no dey crash?. Now, they can get Seun to help them manipulate the database and erase important files.

Of course systems do crash but you cannot tell me that you cannot trace the accounts where these funds eventually go to can you? I hope these systems would be resilient though and I hope there'll be back up.

_{I'm trying to be positive today (when it comes to Nigeria) rather than ask too many questions.}

Of course systems do crash but you cannot tell me that you cannot trace the accounts where these funds eventually go to can you? I hope these systems would be resilient though and I hope there'll be back up.

I'm trying to be positive today (when it comes to Nigeria) rather than ask too many questions.

Paper trail or electronic trail, I am beginning to realize after Seun's comment that it will make no difference to corrupt officials. Sorry to disappoint you but keep the faith tho. It's refreshing.

B.O.S.S.:

Of course systems do crash but you cannot tell me that you cannot trace the accounts where these funds eventually go to can you? I hope these systems would be resilient though and I hope there'll be back up.

Forget systems crashing for a minute. If a transaction originates from one point and ends at another, you can definitely trace that, but does that tell you WHO initiated that transaction or WHO received the money on the other end?  A check to me makes more sense in this case (assuming an actual person will need to sign off on the check before it can be cashed). So you do know who signed the check, but who cashed it? That information will need to be provided. Banks are not always equipped to handle this. They can not really tell you who came into the bank to cash it unless it is a stipulation from government that that information be recorded. Once that check is cashed, that is it.

I am quite familiar with how this works through the bank. The bank basically intercepts all details it can on transactions, when, how, by whom, all that detail is record and transmitted in reports back to government each day automatically for review and approval. Now, each transaction has to be approved and details record and what not, but this does not happen automatically. It has to be a special arrangement made with banks to record at this level and information on employees with access to money and able to sign off on the transactions are also reported on on a daily basis.

How exactly does our government figure that there e-payment scheme will work in curbing corruption, is what I would like to know.

B.O.S.S.:

_{I'm trying to be positive today (when it comes to Nigeria) rather than ask too many questions.}

Try your optimism on another topic please. This seems like serious gba ju e, if we are not careful here lol !!!

@kobo,

I understand your pessimism. However, if we look at everything from that point, we'll never do anything because anything can be circumvented. Banks have a duty to keep records of their customers and transactions (online or cheque-based) should be traceable within the banking industry.

This is not a one-fits-all idea but I believe it is a right step in preventing cash being carried around the whole place with the infamous Ghana-must-go

If you go back to most all my posts on Nigeria you will see that the message is the same, at least anyone really interested in actually knowing what I believe will quickly get that from reading my posts. Most of the ideas we have are good ones but the problem I continue to see is in the implementation and timing. From banning of generators, to CCTV, to Light Train, to e-payment; all good ideas and could work IF done at the right time and the right way.

E-Payment in itself is good, but we need to start asking the right questions to ensure things get done right. There is not supposed to be much of a difference between someone who rights a check and someone who uses e-payment for most all his transactions. With a check, the bank is still able to track your checks, and pull out a log of what checks were cashed and where. Same thing with e-payment. The only difference is the one happens faster than the other. But when it comes to security, there are extra steps to implement for that to become a reality. When it comes to government, it involves the government itself putting in the right structure in it’s organization to ensure security and monitoring on that end, and the bank to work with what the government has to connect transactions to individuals at the government end and eventually, at the other end. When that is not in place, all you have is the same old Check writing level of security, only happening a lot faster but more secure? Not necessarily.

You see this in the fact that banks, when selling debit cards and online banking to people in need of checking accounts do not sell the idea of added security as much. So for my government to sell me e-payment as a way of curbing corruption, I would like to know how they came about that idea and what it means.  Sort of like selling me CCTV in lagos, where the governor himself agrees that the 30,000 policemen there can not be expected to adequately secure the almost 18 million residents, as a means of increasing security. The government, if serious could actually stick with the old Check payment method and still succeed in curbing corruption. Governments and businesses around the world have been successfully able to keep their books intact and good before the advent of e-payment. Why is it suddenly the WAY to solve corruption in government?

Forget systems crashing for a minute. If a transaction originates from one point and ends at another, you can definitely trace that, but does that tell you WHO initiated that transaction or WHO received the money on the other end?

Yes because each transaction will be accompanied by a log in ID.

earTHMama:

Yes because each transaction will be accompanied by a log in ID.

How do you know this? Is that what you are being told will happen/is in place to happen? Or are you, as usual, in your desperate manner manufacturing that so you can claim some brownie cookies for "Your" side again in this??

PLease stop making excuses for these people but push to ENSURE they have it right from the get go, before more money is pumped into yet another scheme, only for us, the Nigerian people to be out a couple more billions at the end of the day.

earTHMama:

Yes because each transaction will be accompanied by a log in ID.

i didnt read that as being included in the article. or was it written in invisible fine print?

How do you know this? Is that what you are being told will happen/is in place to happen? Or are you, as usual, in your desperate manner manufacturing that so you can claim some brownie cookies for "Your" side again in this??

PLease stop making excuses for these people but push to ENSURE they have it right from the get go, before more money is pumped into yet another scheme, only for us, the Nigerian people to be out a couple more billions at the end of the day.

Your naysaying is getting out of hand. Even nairaland has a log in ID and anybody here can be traced with the ID and his/her IP adress. What makes you think that they will be sending money in and out without identification numbers?. Is that too hard for us again?. Geez.

earTHMama:

Your naysaying is getting out of hand. Even nairaland has a log in ID and anybody here can be traced with the ID and his/her IP adress. What makes you think that they will be sending money in and out without identification numbers?. Is that too hard for us again?. Geez.

For once, answer questions asked you. They are in ENGLISH!!

Please, spare me the bull! Answer the questions or admit you do not have the answers!

Becos of this e-payment sh*t, I'm yet to receive my salary(Jan)

Mai Suya:

Becos of this e-payment sh*t, I'm yet to receive my salary(Jan)

don't worry, you would be paid as soon as Oga collects his interest

For once, answer questions asked you. They are in ENGLISH!!

Please, spare me the bull! Answer the questions or admit you do not have the answers!

Your question is senseless. Tell me how they will execute any transaction without any form of ID? Is that possible in this age and time?. Even when they were using the snail method, someone will still sign for any transaction.

aswerigad, kobojunkie is beginning to get on my nerve.

even an unborn child knows that

earTHMama:

Yes because each transaction will be accompanied by a log in ID.

and

earTHMama:

Your naysaying is getting out of hand. Even nairaland has a log in ID and anybody here can be traced with the ID and his/her IP adress. What makes you think that they will be sending money in and out without identification numbers?. Is that too hard for us again?. Geez.

are valid answers/responses to your questions.

shouldnt your question be 'would the scammers and theives be brought to book if found wanting?'

Geeeez, whatever happened to common sense!

shouldnt your question be 'would the scammers and theives be brought to book if found wanting?'

I guess EFCC will step up with the plate, The new electronic system will make their job easier but do you think they will not find a way to siphon money out through bogus claims?. Yes, there will be an electronic trail but it will be 100% legal because some contractor supplied one carton of pen to Asorock for N200M.

earTHMama:

Your question is senseless. Tell me how they will execute any transaction without any form of ID? Is that possible in this age and time?.

Yes it is, idiot! It has been happening to you and your people for so long now. Checks get written and cashed with no record of who took it and how. It has been happening even up to today to you and the money that belongs to your people in this day and age. Why are you so fueled by hate for those that do not think as you do that you can not open your eyes wide to see the reality of what has been happening to you till this day? The last president was able to move billions of dollars from point A to point "NOBODY KNOWS" right under your nose and you are telling me that asking such a question in this day and age is senseless?

For the love of God, please use your senses for once.

earTHMama:

Even when they were using the snail method, someone will still sign for any transaction.

Oh! Someone did? And we were able to loose trillions of naira still? WOW !!! You mean all the money gone missing so far have been there all this while? GOSH!! Talk about burying one's head in the sand so one can score a brownie point or two in yet another senseless argument. Jeezz!

earTHMama:

I guess EFCC will step up with the plate, The new electronic system will make their job easier but do you think they will not find a way to siphon money out through bogus claims?. Yes, there will be an electronic trail but it will be 100% legal because some contractor supplied one carton of pen to Asorock for N200M.

The same EFCC that watched all last year while projects went unimplemented last year and this year, we are re-allocating more money to these same schemes? Wake up!! EFCC can not perform magic.

Yes it is, idiot! It has been happening to you and your people for so long now. Checks get written and cashed with no record of who took it and how. It has been happening even up to today to you and the money that belongs to your people in this day and age. Why are you so fueled by hate for those that do not think as you do that you can not open your eyes wide to see the reality of what has been happening to you till this day? The last president was able to move billions of dollars from point A to point "NOBODY KNOWS" right under your nose and you are telling me that asking such a question in this day and age is senseless?

For the love of God, please use your senses for once.

I didn't know when this argument escalated to the point of calling names. If I it was before i got born again, I will tear you to pieces now but thank God for Christ.

The same EFCC that watched all last year while projects went unimplemented last year and this year, we are re-allocating more money to these same schemes? Wake up!! EFCC can not perform magic.

You are dilly dallying from ID to competence. Questioning their competence should be reserved for another day. We can neither praise nor cast them now because they are yet to be tested with this new method. FEMA screwed up during Katrina with the whole expertise at their disposal, yet the American populace stopped whining about their sloppiness after days. If you are not satisfied, stop being an arm chair critic and show us the way to do things. Things cannot get done just by sitting in your Ohio toilet with your laptop on your laps and yapping about how backwards we are at home.

Again, I don't know whether you have any proof that Obasanjo siphoned money out of our treasury.