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Finance Minister appeals to officials to develop realistic, achievable budgets
Finance Minister, Winston Jordan
With Government facing mounting expenditure pressures for budget 2018, Finance Minister, Winston Jordan is appealing to the respective heads of agencies to develop realistic and achievable budgets.
On this premise, the economist felt compelled to observe that too many Budget Agencies adopt a horizontal approach to preparing their budgets – that is, spreading resources evenly and adding a “top up” to what was given in the previous year.
Additionally, Jordan commented that even as the Government has employed a more programmatic approach to budgeting, too many Budget Agencies remain steeped in line item budgeting – focusing on inputs, rather than outputs.
In this regard, the Finance Minister said, “My admonition to you right now is to stop it. Begin to adopt a vertical approach to budgeting. This means that those programmes that are core drivers to achieving critical performance targets must be prioritised over those that do not.”
He continued, “Be guided by the strategic plans and the sector’s medium-term objectives. Be guided by value for money and cost efficiency measures. Above all else, be guided by results.”
Jordan added, “Your job means achieving a balance of all of these. You must demonstrate a persistent and keen interest in managing in a timely manner. Know your sector. Collect the data, know the data, and use it for your evidence-based submissions to the Ministry of Finance and within your own agencies. Nothing less is good enough. Nothing less is demanded of you.”
The Finance Minister stressed that the role of Heads of Budget Agencies and the role of their teams are to be change agents; change agents who effectively design and implement theories of change to ensure they are achieving the intended results.
The economist said, “At an individual level, if I gave you my hard-earned money to deliver better education, better health care and improved roads and bridges and drainage, and then discover that you went off and bought chocolates, alcohol, imported fruits, televisions for entertainment, fancier curtains, etc., then tell me, what should I do next? I hope the answer is obvious.”
Furthermore, the Finance Minister said that Heads of Budget Agencies and Other Senior Officials of Government should possess certain qualities. He said that these include; being proactive; giving back effective feedback; doing continuous follow-up; offering sound technical advice; demonstrating prudence in discharging fiscal responsibilities; using evidence and data to drive decision-making; and understanding and applying the legislation that guides their respective sector, such as the Procurement Act.
The Finance Minister said that if these qualities are demonstrated by those officials and their supporting teams then Budget 2018 will show significant improvements over Budget 2017 in terms of results achieved.
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