What is ring-fencing and why do municipalities with water services providers need it? Find out why the Department of the Interior and Local Government conducted training like this to LGUs?
Pagadian City – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Region IX thru the Project Development Management Unit (PDMU) successfully facilitated the 3-day training-workshop on Ring-Fencing of LGU’s Book of Accounts on Water and Strategic Business Planning for LGU-Run Water Utilities on January 20-22, 2015 at Guillermo Hotel, Pagadian City.
Twenty-five participants composed of Municipal Planning and Development Coordinators (MPDCs), Municipal Treasurer or Treasury Staff and Accounting Staff from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) attended.
Participating municipalities are Omar and Talipao from Sulu, Balindong, Buadiposo Buntong, Ganassi and Calanogas from Lanao del Sur and Ampatuan, Datu Piang, Parang and Shariff Aguak from Maguindanao. Engr. Haifa Orlasan from DILG-ARMM is also in attendance during the said event.
In a welcome message of DILG-9 Regional Director Paisal O. Abutazil, he emphasized that the training aims to equip the municipalities to understand the principles and concepts of financial ring-fencing operations and guidelines in order to transform their water utility into an economic enterprise.
“The DILG, the implementing agency of the Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig sa lahat (Salintubig) is focused on its effort to capacitate our LGUs in the identified waterless municipalities through the provision of capacity development interventions such as the ring-fencing mechanism,” he said.
“The national government, he added, has invested its resources in various programs and projects in an effort to improve the quality of the living conditions of the marginalized members of society –provision of potable water to waterless local government units is one of those priority programs of government.”
Ms. Stella Maris Salas and Mr. Crisanto Gastardo, both Ring-fencing and Business Planning Specialist from WSP Hub served as resource speakers for the said event.
They emphasized that ring-fencing, as a financial tool of segregating the assets and liabilities and revenues and cost generated by a specific undertaking, is essential in the formation of a self-sustaining entity within the LGU operating where the funds set aside and generated are invested back for its operation.
The said training workshop is still part of the series of capacity development programs intended to capacitate the municipalities which are recipient of SALINTUBIG/GPP – Water Programs.
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