ALGIERS – The Finance and Budget Committee of the National People’s Assembly (APN) has introduced in its preliminary report on the bill relating to the rules of public accounting and financial management a series of amendments, particularly in concerning the inclusion of ex-post parliamentary control of the execution of the general budget.
The preliminary report of the specialized committee, read during a plenary chaired by the vice-president, Ghali Lansari, in the presence of the Minister of Finance, Laziz Faid, and the Minister of Relations with Parliament, Basma Azouar, and devoted to the examination of the bill relating to the rules of public accounting and financial management, provides for the introduction of four new articles relating to a posteriori parliamentary control of the execution of the general budget.
The report specifies that this is what the Algerian legislator enshrined in the Constitution by virtue of the provisions of article 156, the draft budget settlement law being drawn up in accordance with the provisions of organic law 18-15 relating to the laws of finance.
In addition, according to the preliminary report, a member of parliament may address the government with any oral or written question concerning the use of the State’s financial resources, learn about the major orientations of economic and budgetary policy and assess the medium-term resources and expenses of the State within the framework of the drafting of the finance law for the financial year.
The report also included another amendment relating to the separation of judicial and parliamentary control to allow the legislative power to exercise its control in the field of budget and public accounting in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
The report also underlined the need to reformulate certain articles of the bill for the sake of linguistic precision and clarity, to harmonize terminology and to opt for precise, simple and concise legislative wording.
The Finance and Budget Committee indicated in its report that the new accounting structure provided for in organic law N 15-18 relating to finance laws, is divided into three parts: general accounting, budgetary accounting and cost analysis, emphasizing that these are international standards that help improve efficiency and good governance.
In addition, this system, which will come into force gradually, will constitute a source of information for managers and a tool to help in the development of forecasts and the evaluation of public policies, while allowing Parliament to obtain all the information for an evaluation and an assessment of the real financial situation of the State, with the aim of making the best decision, according to the same report.
The report also indicates that the experts and officials of certain bodies and administrations in relation to public accounting and financial management, consulted by the committee, underlined the importance of this bill and the new measures it provides, considering that this text of law operates a revolution in the field of public accounting. After reading the preliminary report, and opening the debate, the deputies welcomed the measures and reforms contained in this project, which make it possible to improve the quality of the operation of preparing estimates and the continuous evaluation of public policies. , strengthen the control of public expenditure, and ensure transparency.
In this regard, the deputy of the Front of El-Mustakbal, Reda Amrane, affirmed that the provisions of this bill will confer transparency on financial and accounting operations, and will make it possible to achieve the desired efficiency in this area.
For his part, the deputy of the Jil Djadid party, Fathi Aoun, welcomed the content of the new text of the law which proposes a new methodology which makes accounting more organized and efficient, considering that the new law enshrines a project for the adoption of the accounting of objectives and programs instead of that of expenditure and revenue.
Mr. Aoun indicated that this bill puts an end to the overlap between the missions of the authorizing officer and those of the public accountant.
For his part, the deputy of the National Liberation Front Party (FLN), Ahmed Rabehi, called for the imperative for the authorizing officer and the budgetary controller to take an oath, underlining the economic and social importance of these two functions.
For his part, the deputy of the Independents group, Madjid Cherid, noted the need to accelerate the digitization of all accounting and financial operations, given the rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT ) and the electronic market.