Jelta Wong says the Integrated Finance Management System (IFMS) must be fine-tuned so that it is user-friendly

Member for Gazelle, Hon. Jelta Wong says the Integrated Finance Management System (IFMS) must be fine-tuned so that it is user-friendly.
East New Britain is among six other provinces trialing the IFMS which is in full use in the national departments.

Hon. Jelta Wong said in terms of financing, the IFMS system is important but there have been numerous complaints about the rollout including teething issues and problems related to communications.

He said the IFMS system relies on good communications system, reliable data connection and backup power, things that many of the remote areas are still struggling with due to the lack of technology.
The district finance office confirmed Gazelle is not on time on its project implementing schedules. And the biggest challenge is a good communications system at times and budget.
Hon. Jelta Wong said there have been delays almost 9 months and the IFMS is currently not user-friendly in rural areas or disaster-prone areas such as ENB where regular intervals of flooding or ash fall occurs.

“I want the Finance Department to reassess its decision in pushing for this program when it is outdated in some parts of the world,” he said.
The district finance office stressed it is important to get the district budget right in the first place because it is now with the Treasury Department and it is hard to make adjustments or accommodate other initiatives.

Last week the IFMS project team visited the district to assist the treasury officers on challenges faced regarding the system.

The district finance office confirmed they have not received any formal training on IFMS and have only been involved in hands- on training but despite that they try to continue with service delivery while IFMS sorts itself out.