A Government Policy To Control The State's Public Finances

 Iraq 07/03/2024  Baghdad: Huda Al-Azzawi   Iraq has suffered throughout the previous years from the inability of successive governments to control spending, both operational and investment, and to control expenditures in all sections of activities approved by the state’s general budget,

until the current government - according to what specialists see - was able, through its policies, to control the state’s public finances through... Implementing automation and electronic governance programs, as well as moving towards balancing programs and performance and not just balancing items.

The Prime Minister’s Advisor for Financial and Economic Affairs, Dr. Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, said in an interview with “Al-Sabah”:

“Within the scope of implementing its financial policy, the federal government has diagnosed that building the federal general budget on the principle of the so-called budget items alone does not provide an adequate basis for controlling financial transactions.” And reassurance of expenses, both operational and investment, in terms of performance and correct targeting of the activity spent on efficient". 

He stated,  “In this regard, the scope of financial responsibility required moving in two parallel directions to raise the efficiency of public finance and financial discipline. The

 first is:

     automating public finance work in revenues and expenditures,

     introducing digital systems, and

     relying on electronic governance through the contents that the government program came up with, and the

second:

     focusing on directing... Public spending, especially investment spending in implementing public projects,

     aims to balance programs and performance in a gradual and systematic manner, to

     ensure efficient implementation and

     evaluate the performance of expenditures without disruption, delay, or waste of public money.” He pointed out,

  “This is what the current financial policy has taken by adopting disbursement programs that provide oversight and evaluation of multi-faceted activities that concern broad sectors and activities and are currently called (special programs), without implicitly abandoning the budget items that will be an integral part of the budget.” Special programs or programs as a first stage.” Saleh stressed,

 “Based on the above, the country’s financial system is currently being modernized in a successive manner with two pillars (financial automation and modernization of government accounting) and in accordance with the principles of digital control and the adoption of program principles in implementing and managing public budgets in a gradual and systematic manner within the framework of the economic reform policy.” And the country's finances.

 For his part, the academic researcher in financial affairs and development, Aqeel Jabr Ali Al-Muhammadawi, said in an interview with “Al-Sabah”:

“It is not possible to implement the management and control of public financial flows with high efficiency without evaluating and analyzing the financial situation, and the sustainability of public finances on solid financial foundations and methodology and a financial mentality.”

 “A new specialist with more accurate and sober financial models that transcends areas of functional and institutional dysfunction in public financial decisions and procedures, which will provide legal entities and public government institutions with additional objective information that can positively impact the quality of administrative decision-making and decision-making taken by government bodies, councils and departments.”

 He added,  "This indicates the necessary need to prepare a comprehensive financial methodology from experts in the accounting and financial specialization, more than economists, in order to develop

statistics,

     financial indicators,

     national accounts,

     financial practices,

     banking supervision,

     financial and real estate credit,

     financial insurance, and others

 according to concepts, and to provide specialized and advanced financial analysis."

 And more accurate and sober, taking into account differences in the areas of building, formulating and setting standards and metrics according to standard models, as well as financial practices and applications and statistical resources from various governmental and non-governmental institutions.” https://alsabaah.iq/98944-.html