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PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT AMENDMENT BILL

H.B. 14, 2015.]

Public Finance ManageMent aMendMent

PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT AMENdMENT BILL, 2015

________________

Explanatory Memorandum

This Bill seeks to provide for the amendment of the Public Finance Management Act [Chapter 22:19] the individual clauses of the Bill are explained below:

Clause 1

This clause sets out the Bill’s short title.

Clause 2

This clause amends section 10 to compel accounting officers to ensure systems are in place for planning, budgeting, allocating, and reporting, review of the of the recurrent and capital budgets.

Clause 3

This clause repeals and replaces section 46 with the new section dealing with plans and projections.

Clauses 4

This clause amends section 47 to compel the submission of a budget of estimated revenue not less than three months before the start of the financial year.

Clause 5

This clause amends section 49 by inserting provisions for preparation of financial statements for each quarter of each financial year.

Clause 6

Inthis clause the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of a new section that undertakes the separation of roles of appropriate Ministries and Public Entities.

Clause 7

Inthis clause the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of a new subsection in section 82 which focuses on recommendations by an auditor being implemented.

(ii)i

Public Finance ManageMent aMendMent

(iviv)

presented by the minister of finance and economic development

BILL

To provide for the amendment of the Public Finance Management Act

[Chapter 22:19] and to provide for matters connected with or incidental

5 to the foregoing.

ENACTED by the Parliament and the President of Zimbabwe.

PART I

Preliminary

1 Short title

10 This Act may be cited as the Public Finance Management Amendment Act, 2015.

2 Amendment of section 10 Cap. 22:19

Section 10 (“Accounting Officers”) of the Public Finance Management Act

[Chapter 22:19] (hereinafter called the principal Act) is amended by the insertion of 15 the following subsection after subsection (3)—

“(4) Every accounting officer, with regard to public entities and statutory funds for which his or her Ministry is responsible, shall—

(a) ensure that each such public entity or statutory fund has systems in place for planning, allocating, budgeting and reporting on the use of

public resources and that public resources are safeguarded against loss; and

(b) review the recurrent and capital budgets of each such public entity or statutory fund and make recommendations to the appropriate Minister

H.B. 14, 2015.]

Printed by the Government Printer, Harare

and recommend to the Minister whether the budgets should be varied,

approved or not to be approved;

have power to order an investigation to be conducted into the affairs of each such public entity or statutory fund;
have power to call upon any accounting authority of each such entity or 5 fund to provide an explanation on an issue affecting the use of public

resources;

have power to give directions which the accounting officer thinks necessary for the efficient running of each such entity or ”.

3 Amendment of section 46 Cap. 22:19 10

Section 46 of the principal Act is repealed and substituted by—

“46 Plans and projections by public entities

The accounting authority for every public entity shall submit to the

accounting officer of the appropriate Ministry and to the AccountantGeneral, at least sixty days (or such greater period agreed by the 15 appropriate Ministry with the Accountant-General) before the start of its financial year—

a projection of revenue, expenditure and borrowings for

that financial year in the prescribed format; and

an annual corporate plan in the prescribed format covering 20

the affairs of that public entity, including its subsidiaries, for the following three financial years, and such plan shall include targets, outputs and outcomes.”.

4 Amendment of section 47 Cap. 22:19

Section 47 (“Annual budgets of specified public entities”) of the principal Act is 25 amended by—

the repeal of subsection (1) and the substitution of—

“(1) The accounting authority for a public entity shall submit to

the appropriate Minister, not less than three months before the start of the financial year of the Ministry (or other period agreed to between 30 the Minister and the public entity), a budget of estimated revenue and expenditure for that financial year and an annual plan relating to that public entity, prepared in line with the Government’s economic development plan for approval by the appropriate Minister.”;

the insertion of a proviso under subsection (2) as follows— 35

“Provided that the supervising Ministry shall check before approval whether the annual corporate plans and budgets of public entities are consistent with the projections and plans referred to in section 46 and otherwise comply with financial policies set by Government.”.

5 Amendment of section 49 Cap. 22:19 40

Section 49 (“Annual reports and financial statements”) of the principal Act is amended in subsection (1) by—

the repeal of paragraph (b) and the substitution of—

“(b) prepare financial statements for each quarter of each financial year

in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice;”; 45

by the insertion in paragraph (c)(ii) after “Accountant General” of “within

days after the end of each quarter”;

6 New section inserted in Cap. 22:19

The principal Act is amended by the insertion after section 51 of the following

5 section—

“51A Separation of roles of appropriate Ministries and public entities

(1) The accounting authority and every member or employee of a public entity, and the accounting officer and every member of the Civil Service employed in an appropriate Ministry responsible for that

10 entity, shall not do or suffer anything that compromises the supervisory or regulatory role of the Ministry in relation to the public entity.

(2) In particular, no accounting authority or member or employee of a public entity, and no accounting officer or member of the Civil Service employed in an appropriate Ministry responsible for that entity shall

15 (except to the extent permitted by this Act or the enactment constituting the public entity)—

(a) act in any manner or receive any monetary or other benefit that compromises the supervisory or regulatory role of the appropriate Ministry or infringes on the autonomy of the

20 public entity;

(b) being the accounting officer or a member of the Civil Service

employed in an appropriate Ministry responsible for the entity in question—

(i) partakes in the management of the entity or dispossesses

25 it of any of its management functions, whether or not at the invitation of the entity; or

(ii) colludes with the public entity (whether actively, or by incitement, or through acquiescence) in condoning or concealing any non-compliance with this Act or the

30 enactment constituting the public entity; or

(iii) fails to ensure, to the extent he or she is competent or capable of doing so, the strict separation and accounting for those public resources for which the appropriate

Ministry is responsible, and those funds and resources

35 for which the public entity is, under the enactment constituting the public entity, responsible; or

(iv) accepts or receives any monetary or other benefit inconsistent with the discharge of the appropriate

Ministry’s supervisory or regulatory role, including

40 (but not limited to) any payment or benefit in the way

of or in the guise of—

management committee allowances; or
trustee or trustee representative allowances; or
travel allowances, fuel coupons or holiday

45 allowances;

(i) fails to make timely disclosures to the appropriate Ministry of all facts, matters, transactions or

commitments concerning the public entity that are likely to have an impact on the public resources or financial interest of the State; or

(ii) colludes with the appropriate Ministry (whether actively, or by incitement, or through acquiescence) in condoning or concealing any non-compliance with this Act or the enactment constituting the public entity; or

(iii) offers to any person referred to in paragraph (b) any monetary or other benefit inconsistent with the discharge of the appropriate Ministry’s supervisory or regulatory role including (but not limited to) those payments or benefits referred to in that paragraph.

(3) Despite anything to the contrary contained in this Act, or in the enactment constituting the public entity or in any other law, no accounting officer or member of the Civil Service employed in an appropriate Ministry responsible for approving the remuneration and allowances of any member or employee of a public entity, shall approve such remuneration or allowances without first obtaining written clearance from Treasury:

Provided that if Treasury does not respond within thirty days to a written request for clearance from the accounting officer or other member of the Civil Service concerned, Treasury shall be deemed to have given its clearance.

(4) Any person who wilfully or with gross negligence contravenes subsection (2) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding level ten or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(5) Every head of an appropriate Ministry shall, in consultation with the Treasury, formulate and implement protocols, guidelines and best practice directives to ensure the separation of roles between the Ministry and the public entity for which it is responsible in accordance with this section and good corporate governance principles.

(6) No secrecy or confidentiality provision in any contract or law shall prevent an accounting authority or a member or employee of a public entity from furnishing to the appropriate Ministry (through the accounting officer or otherwise) any information concerning a breach or suspected breach of subsection (1), (2) or (3), and no public entity shall dismiss or in any other way penalise the accounting authority, member or employee of the public entity for furnishing such information.”.

Amendment of section 82 in Cap. 22:19

The principal Act is amended in section 82 by the insertion after subsection (3)

of the following subsection—

“(3a) Where recommendations have been made by an auditor in terms of this Act, the public entity concerned (except upon good cause shown to the Treasury for deferring implementation of any recommendation or not implementing any recommendation) shall ensure that all recommendations are complied with within time frames agreed with the Auditor-General.

PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT AMENDMENT BILL

PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT AMENDMENT BILL

Clause 2

Clause 3

Clauses 4

Clause 5

Clause 6

Clause 7

BILL

PART I

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