Balancing Legislative and Executive Powers During the last decade or so, restive parliamentarians in a few African countries have taken the initiative to reform the legal frameworks and traditions they inherited to give them more influence of the budget process. Examples: 1. In Uganda, the Budget Act of 2001 provided for a strengthened role and early involvement of policy makers in budget formulation and enhanced parliamentary scrutiny of the national budget. The Act established both a Parliamentary Budget Committee, with a mandate to scrutinize macroeconomic and fiscal targets as well the medium-term expenditure framework, and a Parliamentary Budget Office to analyze budget proposals and related economic developments. Line ministries were also mandated to provide ministerial policy statements that detailed the allocation of resources within a medium-term framework. 2. In Kenya, the Fiscal Management Act, 2009, specifically provided for parliament to regulate and oversee the national budget process, and to make amendments to the draft budget proposed by the executive. It also required the government to submit half-yearly reports on budget execution to the parliament. 3. In Kenya, the 2010 Constitution provided for a clear parliamentary oversight mechanism deliberately whittling away the powers of the ministry of finance in having the final say on the budget. The Constitution is supported by a new Public Financial Management Act 2012 which confers detailed responsibilities to the executive’s Budget Committee of the National Assembly including the review of the Budget Policy Statement and the budget estimates for subsequent approval by the full parliament. Unlike previous laws, the new legislation gives the parliament powers to provide general direction on budgetary matters while taking into consideration the views of the executive.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:51:51 +0000
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