Clean up act!
by mahmood on 03/05/06 at 11:10 am
The government was yesterday told to clean up its act, with MPs demanding international monitoring of the national budget. They want the Finance Ministry’s book-keeping supervised by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The call came as the MPs refused to ratify the closing budget statement for 2004, which will delay discussions in parliament over the budget for next year and 2008.
MPs accused the government of hiding vital information and demanded more financial transparency.
Parliament financial and economic affairs committee secretary Isa Abu Fateh said that the government was still working as in the old days, when things were hidden from the public.
“The Financial Audit Bureau report for 2004 highlights many irregularities and violations, which are still going on today, although we had been promised earlier they were long gone,” he said.
“Ministers and government officials present here have been coming several times saying that everything will be cleaned up, but time has passed without us seeing things come into reality.
GDN :: Mohammed Al-A’ali :: 3 May ‘06
