The caretaker government has introduced stringent fiscal measures, explicitly barring supplementary grants unless faced with major natural disasters. This policy will remain until the inauguration of an elected government.
In a directive, the Ministry of Finance stated to all concerned departments: “No Supplementary Grants exceeding the parliamentary-approved level for FY24 will be sanctioned, ensuring adherence to the prescribed budget allocation. The only exception will be in response to significant natural disasters.”
However, even in cases of natural disasters, supplementary grants will only be contemplated if there are no means for fund reallocation. The grant will only be pursued if the department’s chief accounting officer confirms having explored all possible avenues. Furthermore, such claims need authentication from the pertinent accounting organization.
For a supplementary grant to be deliberated upon, the chief accounting officer must give a strong justification and sound reasons. The finance ministry’s expenditure department should second these justifications.
Process for Technical Supplementary Grants
On the matter of technical supplementary grants, the procedure is as follows:
- Only the chief accounting officers can request funds, providing details of the sources and affirming the funds’ surrender.
- The expenditure division will meticulously evaluate these cases and present their findings to the budget division for assessment. Before sanctioning funds, this process will consider data process reports and available fiscal space.
- After this, the finance secretary will oversee these requests, culminating in the approval of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the cabinet.
- Upon federal cabinet sanctioning, the principal accounting officer will provide a detailed schedule backed by the expenditure division, including the ECC’s decision, cabinet ratification, and surrender order. This will be sent to the director of budget computerisation for entry into the SAP system, ensuring the finance ministry’s future releases align with available funds and the prescribed release strategy.
All departments have been informed that if the funds allotted for a specific service for the ongoing financial year prove inadequate or if there arises an unforeseen expense, the principal accounting officers must adhere to a stringent protocol for fund reallocation.
Furthermore, chief accounting officers have been endowed with additional funds for this fiscal year’s ad hoc relief allowance, which was introduced in the current year’s budget. They’ve been directed to reallocate funds in conjunction with the finance ministry specifically for the ad hoc relief allowance and to do so no later than August 31st.
