Control Mechanisms And The Management Of The Funds Of Local Governments In Nigeria: A Case Study Of Anambra State

ABSTRACT

The role of the third-tier of government in societal development has become

broader, deeper and even more sophisticated in the current dispensation. Thanks to the

numerous reforms which have been visited on local government within the last few

decades. In spite of this however, the performance of the third-tier so far in

developing the society, more especially the grassroots has been quite unsatisfactory. It

is in the light of this that this work dwelt on the control mechanisms and the

management of the funds of Local Governments in Nigeria using Anambra State as its

case study. Effective control mechanism is a pre-requisite for good financial

accounting to be achieved in the local government system. Local government

accounting aims at providing analysis of revenue and taxes realized and for this to be

adequately taken care of, there is need for the establishment of an effective and

efficient control mechanisms in the financial management of Local Government

funds. In view of the situation, this research attempts to address some pertinent issues

which include highlighting some of the control mechanisms provided in the Financial

Memoranda and other operating guidelines as well as the faithful application of these

mechanisms in the Local Government system. Attention was also paid to the factors

that hinders the successful application of these mechanisms. The research went further

to identify a number of findings which include the attitudes of the chairmen towards

internal control measures, non-adherence to the provisions of Financial Memoranda,

large scale corruption among career civil servants and the political officials, among

other myriads of findings. These findings were of course not without some negative

implications. We have identified some of them to include, low revenue base,

administrative ineptitude and inefficiency, gross underdevelopment of the grassroots,

unemployment among the teeming youths, abject poverty among the rural dwellers

and many more. However, the researchers also went ahead to proffer some useful

recommendations which if religiously implemented to the latter, there will be proper

financial accountability in the control and management of Local Government funds

and resources and the noble ideal of fostering development by way of efficient service

delivery to the local people will be greatly achieved.