Contract signed to correct IFMAS deficiencies

May 24, 2016 News

The government has signed contracts with Free Balance, the owners of the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMAS), to upgrade the Ministry of Finance’s systems, according to Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan.

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan

The Minister said this is part of a general effort to reorganise the treasury and the management of the public purse.
“I think by December we should have the key module that has to do with the preparation of the budget, up and running….” Minister Jordan told the Government Information Agency (GINA) during an interview.
A fully functional IFMAS will aid in managing the state’s financial resources through a better recording system, better accountability, faster preparation of final and accounting statements, and ultimately the reduction of the possibilities for fraud and corrupt transactions.
The Minister also pointed out that it is government’s intention to have all the modules installed this time around.
IFMAS was instituted by the former administration in 2004, at a cost of $132M, with the aim of replacing the manual system for the processing of transactions at all government institutions and to reduce the processing time of transactions by linking Ministries, Departments and Regions through a network of computers.
However, several modules critical to the proper functioning of the system were not installed by the previous administration, sparking criticisms that they were left out deliberately.