EU Proposes Budget Oversight Office To Monitor Spending

3

A team of experts from the European Union (EU), accompanied by three officials from the Ministry of Finance, were invited to Cabinet to make a presentation.

The E.U. team are part of a €2.2 million Euro project to enhance the operation of the Antigua and Barbuda Parliament, and to create the mechanism for reviews of the annual Budget expenditures by the creation of a Budget Oversight Office—not unlike the U.S. Congressional Budget Office.

The team noted that draft legislation, to be called the Financial Administration Act 2020, would have a four-fold impact on the budgetary process. In its operation, would create the new office and provide the authority for the official to work alongside the Leader of the Opposition—who is the Constitutional Head of the Public Accounts Committee. That official would also review expenditure within fixed periods, against the budgeted amounts, and to share his findings with the Parliament so that shifting of monies could be achieved.

The legislation would also allow for the review of the collection of taxes on a quarterly basis, for example, in order to determine where the fall-offs have occurred.

Further consideration will be given by the Cabinet, following close examination of the draft. The E.U. officials congratulated the Gaston Browne administration for placing the 2020 Budget on the government’s website, making the massive document transparent and available to every member of the public.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Antigua!
We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages.
Contact us at [email protected]

3 COMMENTS

    • Notes From A Native Son Of The Rock! “Come, then, comrades; it would be as well to decide at once to change our ways. We must shake off the heavy darkness in which we were plunged, and leave it behind. The new day which is already at hand must find us firm, prudent and resolute. … So, my brothers, how is it that we do not understand that we have better things to do than to follow that same Europe? // That same Europe where they were never done talking of Man, and where they never stopped proclaiming that they were only anxious for the welfare of Man: today we know with what sufferings humanity has paid for every one of their triumphs of the mind. // Come, then, comrades, the European game has finally ended; we must find something different. We today can do everything, so long as we do not imitate Europe, so long as we are not obsessed by the desire to catch up with Europe.” – Frantz Fanon; The Wretched of The Earth!

      AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING, SO SHALL IT BE IN THE END…

      “The retreat was conducted by a Canadian professor, named Chris Bobb (Dr. Chris Bart), whose abilities are well-known, who is highly respected, and who has also been lecturing to Antigua and Barbuda civil servants, and has won applause from both private and public managers within the CARICOM region for his insightful work.” – ANR Cabinet Holds Retreat To Strengthen Good Governance February 2, 2020!

      “Oh Gad!” Joanne Hillhouse! As Mi Gud Fren Ras Smood wud say: Oh Mi Rass!

      “In this the International Decade for People of African Descent 2015 – 2024, how is it possible that GoAB could not find a Caribbean Professor Emeritus or Professor of Government of African Descent in the Caribbean or the Diaspora! This has got to be a Water Dream at devil’s Bridge where our Ancestors practiced their efforts to master their powers of Conduction!” – JFII 02032020!

      Who can forget when RAS took the Baldwin Spencer Cabinet to school or was it “show and tell” complete with PowerPoint Presentation! “Pushing ahead with a self-emancipatory agenda is critical, but we must do so fully conscious of this broader context of our development efforts.” – Dr. Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor, UWI!

      LESS WE REMEMBER!

      “Mr. Vere Cornwall Bird intensely dislikes interference from London. He has worked an economic miracle in Antigua developing the tourist trade to the point where the island’s budget has been able to dispense (DEFIANTLY) with grant-in-aid. An oil refinery is being built in the island, and a deep water harbour is not far off. He is rightly proud of his achievements; sees Antigua as on the verge of self-sufficiency, and is in no mood to be dictated to.” Professor Dr. Arthur Lewis Nobel Laureate in Economics. “The Agony of the Eight (1965)!

      How do Wi Cum Soh! Prime Minister, The Honourable Gaston Browne is a more insightful and discerning Politico! Is this another signal of “Beating the Retreat” from “Entrepreneurial Socialism” to “Empowerment Capitalism!”

      UWI offers a Graduate Course and Seminars in Government! For the UWI Five Islands Campus, three concepts: access; alignment; and, agility, ground UWI’s strategic response to the challenges and opportunities in its operating environment!

      “An endless task, the cataloguing of reality. We accumulate facts, we discuss them, but with every line that is written, with every statement that is made, one has the feeling of incompleteness.” ― Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks!

  2. The leader of the Opposition is the constitutional head of the Public Accounts committee eh? Please Mr. Pringle if you have not already, start to equip yourself to perform as competent as possible in this role jack.

Comments are closed.