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Incoming government should use available data for accurate assessment of State finances

Aug 18, 2020 Letters

Dear Editor,

As was the case in 2015 with the change of a new Government, we now hear expressions and opinions of an “empty treasury” and “bankrupt coffers” by both citizens and politicians of the victorious party. These utterances make the anecdotal assumption that the incoming government has no funds to spend to execute the functions of the State. Technically, after every fiscal year, a government will have (assuming budgetary funds were fully utilized) limited financial resources and hence the need for an annual budget.

Going forward, it would be wise for the incoming government to give consideration to an audit process grounded on quantitative facts and data to give an accurate assessment of the current financial position of the State. This assessment should then be shared with the public and used as the base point for the formulation of the budget.
These data can be accessed from the consolidated financial statements of the immediate preceding year as required by the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act 2003, in particular Sections 68 to 71 and 73. Also, data for the current year should be extracted from the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMAS) and other financial reports showing extra-budgetary funds, deposit funds, schedule of government guarantees, outstanding public debt, and the issuances and extinguishment of government loans. These data sources will reveal current revenues, current and recurring expenditure, capital revenue and expenditure to date in the current year.
Since we are already close to three quarters into the year because of the protracted elections, it would be prudent for the current government to adopt a course of action as outlined here so as to inform its decision making when formulating the 2020 national budget.

Yours truly,
Clinton Urling

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