The National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) says Local Authorities’ Management Information System Officers (MISOs) need to be the agents of change if Councils are to fully utilize the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS).

NLGFC Director of Corporate Services, Charles Liwonga said these remarks during an IFMIS training which was organized for all Council MISOs recently.

Liwonga said IFMIS was procured by the government to provide a robust Financial Management System in Local Authorities after noting lapses in financial management and reporting. However, most councils are yet to adopt comprehensive use of IFMIS in managing their financial resources.

"The IFMIS was introduced to ensure that there is efficiency and effectiveness in the management of financial resources whether locally generated or finances from the central government and development partners. It is Surprising to note that councils are deliberately ignoring the systems and are transacting outside IFMIS. We cannot hold on to the archaic ways, doing business as usual, we need to keep up to speed with the changes,” said Liwonga.

He added that as the system managers, MISOs have a responsibility to advise and ensure that they provide the councils with all the desired support for them to migrate to using IFMIS.

“With the introduction of a number of ICT systems, your work is expanding. This is why we feel the need to provide these refresher trainings to ensure that we are up to date with the developments and emerging issues because you can only provide the desired support services if you are conversant with the issues,” he continued.

IFMIS is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tool for Councils to use in Financial Management and Reporting under the policy guidance of the Accountant General.