Finance Ministry to present 2013 Budget in November 2012
Freetown, July 6 (SLENA): The Financial Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED), Mr. Edmund Koroma has disclosed that the 2013 budget will be presented to Parliament between October and November this year and will contact Parliament to know when sittings will commence when parliament reopens.
This disclosure was made last week during a meeting of the Mid Term Review Mission of the World Bank with officials of the ministry of finance officials.
The mission was in Sierra Leone to review progress made so far on implementation since the last implementation support mission (ISM) of December 2011 including progress on agreed actions on implementation of the 2012 Annual Work Plan.
The purpose of the meeting was to present the mission’s Aide Memoire which summarizes the findings and recommendations of the Project Medium Term Supervision (MTS) held from the 18th to the 27th of June 2012.
In his address, the task team leader of the mission, Roberto Panzardi, said he and his team had successful meetings with all the sub-component managers of the Integrated Public Financial Management Reform Project (IPFMRP). He however noted that there are some outstanding issues relating to the revision of some of the project indicators which will be incorporated in the aide memoire, adding that during the mission emphasis was placed on revising legislations in the country, particularly in Public Financial Management.
In presenting key findings on Component One, which is strengthening macro-fiscal coordination and budget management and Component Two, reinforcing the control system for improved service delivery, Senior PFM specialist, World Bank, Dan Nicolau, pointed out that the objectives of the aforementioned components were to improve the budget credibility associated with a more appropriately developed and managed aggregate fiscal position. This also includes constrained MDA budgets and control of the in-year position.
The World Bank specialist noted that during their discussions they reviewed the status of implementation of the different activities which were essential parts of the Annual Work Plan for 2012 implementation of the first six months as well as other review actions which were included in the December 2011 Aide Memoire. The other departmental activities reviewed, he went on, included the result of the Economic Policy Research Unit, the Budget Bureau and the Revenue and Tax Policy.
Continuing his contribution, the Financial Secretary, Edmund Koroma said the Finance Bill and the Statutory Instrument for the revision of taxation rates for MDAs have been presented to cabinet by the Minister of Finance but informed his audience that cabinet has raised a number of issues regarding the statutory instrument and this include requesting the IMF to brief both cabinet parliament the IMF to brief the
He said the Mission had been advised that the budget calendar was Revised for the formulation of the 2013 budget, under the Revenue and Tax Policy unit. The Mission was informed that during the first six months of 2012, the Revenue and Tax Policy Unit prepared and submitted to Cabinet Secretariat the Finance Bill of 2012 and the Statutory Instrument for the revision of taxation rates for MDAs.
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