D.C.C NEEDS BUDGET SUB-COMMITTEE, WALE TOLD PARLIAMENT

The Democratic Coalition for Change (DCC) Government needs a budget sub-committee to ensure its strategic priorities are adequately funded throughout its entire four-year life.

Parliament had heard from the Finance Minister last week, that the Government has a total of thirty-six priorities this year all under eight different sectors.

In Parliament, this morning, the Member of Parliament for Aoke-Langalanga Matthew Wale said a budget sub-committee could operate like the public accounts committee but internal to the Government.

“Such a committee could require ministries especially the key ones, productive resource ministries and perhaps the major social ministries to present and defend their bids and work plans before the sub-committee. In some ways, it would operate much like what the PAC has been doing but it would be internal.”

The Aoke-Langalanga MP said this is an important concept to ensure funding envelopes for priorities are taken out of the hands of public service officers.

“This I think, is important Mr Speaker so that the responsibility for setting funding envelopes and cuts ought to be taken out of the hands of public officers and placed squarely in Cabinet. This may well be a useful mechanism to ensure budget focus over an entire four-year life of a government.”

The debate on the National Budget concluded in Parliament this afternoon.