Regarding the delay in sending the budget schedules.. Sudanese Advisor: Parliament is informed
Regarding the delay in sending the budget schedules.. Sudanese Advisor: Parliament is informed
2024-05-09 08:11
Shafaq News/ The financial and economic advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, commented on Thursday on the reasons for delaying sending the 2024 budget schedules to the House of Representatives.
Saleh told Shafaq News Agency, “The (tripartite) federal general budget was legislated in accordance with Law No. 13 of 2023 and was published in the Official Gazette on June 26, 2023, as a medium-term financial plan. Despite this, the budget did not become effective and implemented for the fiscal year 2023 until In August of last year, this coincided with the issuance of instructions to implement the budget, both operational and investment, as the instructions are an integral part of the legislative process to implement the provisions of the law in the best way, which means that the application of the principles of the federal general budget on the ground in all its dimensions has been completed in the last third. From last year 2023.”
He explained that “this last third of the implementation of the general budget last year required the submission of the financial statements for the fiscal year 2024, that is, the tables of revenues, expenditures, and deficit estimates, based on the provisions of Article 77/Second of the General Budget Law No. 13 of 2023 referred to above.” The aforementioned article stipulates the following: “The Council of Ministers must send the budget schedules for the fiscal years 2024 and 2025 before the end of the previous fiscal year to the House of Representatives for approval.”
The Sudanese advisor continued: “Based on the above, and in terms of the timeline, Article 77 could have been implemented if the tripartite general budget had been enacted and became effective on the first of January 2023 and not in the month of August.”
Saleh added, “Estimating the schedules for the year 2024 and 2025 must depend on the financial movements taking place in the year 2023 in part and knowing something about the final account for the aforementioned year in accordance with the Financial Management Law. This requires at least four months to know the liquidation of previous financial obligations according to The principle of entitlement.
He added: “But the 2023 budget did not witness the actual implementation of all its details until the last months of last year, which requires the need for an appropriate time frame in order to make estimates of the required schedules and in accordance with the approved financial constants and variables and the possible fluctuations therein.”
Saleh concluded his speech by pointing out that “the delay that occurred does not mean that the House of Representatives is far from the circle of communication with the executive authority, broad consultation, exchange of information, and access to the country’s financial details, but rather that the House of Representatives is fully informed and appreciates the importance of the time frame for making estimates and building practical and professional applications.” “The necessary precision, especially in the 2024 and 2025 budgets.”
Earlier today, Thursday, the Parliamentary Finance Committee revealed the reasons for the government not voting on the 2024 budget schedules and sending them to the House of Representatives.
According to committee member Muhammad Nouri, the budget law schedules were supposed to be presented in the previous session of the Council of Ministers, but they were postponed due to the increase in government spending, the large deficit within the budget, and the government’s overrun of the original 2023 budget.
He explained that “the government is currently looking to reduce unnecessary expenditures by making financial transfers and expanding non-oil financial revenues, in addition to that the government is also working to reduce the percentage of the deficit in the general budget for the year 2024, which exceeded more than 80 trillion dinars,” suggesting that the tables of the law will be presented. The budget is in the next session of the Council of Ministers, and we are awaiting its approval and sending it to the House of Representatives.”
Earlier, Acting Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, agreed with the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, on the necessity of completing the schedules of the budget law for the year 2024, and expediting their sending to the House of Representatives for the purpose of discussing and voting on them, due to their connection to the lives of citizens and their focus on investment spending for new projects.
shafaq.com
