BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr.21
Trend:
Deputies of the Mazhilis (Lower House) of Kazakhstan’s Parliament approved the bill ‘On amendments and additions to some legislative acts of Kazakhstan on improving budget legislation in the first reading, Trend reports referring to the country’s Ministry of National Economy.
"The bill is aimed at implementing the recommendations of the Parliament, the Accounts Committee, as well as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development," said the ministry’s head Asset Irgaliyev at the plenary session of the Mazhilis.
According to Irgaliyev, the bill envisages the formation of an analytical report on budgetary risks and the sustainability of public finances, which will contain an analysis of the impact of macroeconomic, demographic, financial, and other risks on the status of public finances. The report will be submitted annually to the parliament together with the draft state budget.
Besides, the bill proposes to give local executive bodies the opportunity to redistribute the budget to other areas of funds for which the minimum amount of funding from the local budget is established in transfers of a general nature.
The introduction of a ban on changing the target indicators of strategic plans in the fourth quarter of 2021 when allocated funds will be returned, due to the expected non-utilization is also envisioned in the bill.
To strengthen monitoring and control over the use of funds allocated for state support, it’s envisaged to open accounts in the treasury for operators of financial and non-financial support of state programs and subjects of the quasi-public sector that are borrowers under a state guarantee.
"The transfers used not for the purposes determined by the legislation, will be returned to the state budget based on the results of the audit report. This will also increase the efficiency of the use of budgetary funds," the minister said.
The term for allocating loans to local executive bodies to cover the cash deficit of the local budget is proposed to be reduced from 3 years to 6 months.
The bill also envisions the formation of an analytical report on budget expenditures based on reports on the implementation of strategic plans and regional development programs. The consideration of the annual report in the Parliament will be accompanied by the hearing of akims (heads of regions) on the use of targeted transfers from the state budget.
Irgaliyev stressed that in order to improve state borrowing, responsibility is introduced for non-disbursement of loan funds on time and a ban on the acceptance by local executive bodies of debt obligations for third parties.
To increase the feasibility of the planned costs, the bill proposes to amend the approved natural norms no more than once a year.
"The bill provides for clarification amendments. Cases of the state budget’s clarification and the content of the socio-economic development forecast are specified. The budget receipts will include remunerations for the daily balance of funds in the Single Treasury Account opened with the National Bank," concluded the minister.