Systematic Budget Programming in 2013!

It should be guided by a permanent search for efficiency in public management.

Henceforth, the functional budget of the State, which is meant for the day-to-day running of the different sectors and ministries, will be programmed in a much more methodical way. This will include issues like spending on goods and services, wages and other personnel-related expenditure, interests and other financial expenses, current transfers and operating subsidies. According to the Presidential orientations on how the entire budget should be prepared by all vote holders, good governance should be a watchword for all and sundry so that the country could, with the programme budget, effectively journey out of socio-economic ills of corruption and embezzlement which have soiled the country's reputation for long.

Scale of Preference

Ministerial or sector-by-sector expenses would follow a classification of priority projects of each sector or ministry as the case may be. No longer will government pay for what is not needed or is at least urgent. Vote holders should have a scale of preference wherein money will be allocated to acquire what is needed for optimal governance. This will curb hitherto anomalies like forfeiting papers and pens, for example, for appliances and other equipment which are sometimes packed for years all because someone somewhere needed juicy kickbacks for their acquisition. The Head of State is loud and clear: "Budgetary choices should be guided by a permanent search for efficiency in public management." As such, expenses must tie with the priorities of each sector or ministry and most importantly, with the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper, the 2035 growth vision, the Millennium Development Goals and the medium-term expenditure framework.

Among others here, priority should be on ensuring that salaries are paid. For efficiency, efforts should be redoubled to cleanse the State's payroll of ghost workers as well as activities that drain the State of the hard-to-recover revenue. Expenditures on other items should be strictly on the need to keep the administration going. The cost of the functioning of central, ministerial and regional contracts award commissions will be bone by the Ministry in charge of Public Contracts and anything away from this will be paid for by the concerned administration.

Budgetary Stringency

The Presidential directives oblige all vote holders to minimise, as much as possible, hitherto wastes that have characterised public management in the country. Only then would the scarce resources be able to keep the administration going and at the same time engendering the necessary development capable of catapulting the economy to emergence.

What The Law Says?

According to Section 7 of the Law No. 2007/006 of December 26, 2007 relating to the Fiscal Regime of the State, "Deductions from the State revenue, notably in favour of regional or local authorities, shall result from a specific provision of the finance law. Such deductions shall only be made for public corporations with a view to defraying their expenses or compensating for exemptions and tax rebates or ceilings issued for them. Their destination, purpose, beneficiary and amount shall be defined and assessed in a precise, accurate and objective manner, in order to ensure transparent accounts and efficiency of parliamentary control."