Financial Management Law





21/8/2017 12:00 am

Mohammed Sharif Abu Maysam

The date of the first approval of the Financial Management Act in Iraq dates back to 1940, when the General Accounts Law No. 28 was approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives at the time, under which the public money was managed.

The provisions of this law were put into effect in 1941 on the accounts of the ministries and their affiliated institutions or any governmental or semi- And then made several amendments until it was disrupted in 2003 by the civil administrator, "Paul Bremer," which issued a decision to carry the number 95 for 2004, called "the law of financial management and public debt" to replace the previous law and remains in force until the moment.

The question here is whether Resolution No. 95 of 2004 contributed seriously to the management and maintenance of public funds during the 14 years Past?
We will leave the answer to specialists and colleagues working in the economic press to investigate the motives for canceling the previous law in 2003 and the secret of the continuation of the work of Resolution No. 95 to date.

Despite the criticism of this decision by many specialists in financial affairs, and despite the entry into force of the Provincial Council Administration Law No. 21 of 2008, amended in 2013, which provided for the transfer of sub-departments, organs, functions, services and competencies exercised by the Ministry of Finance Municipalities and public works, reconstruction and housing, labor and social affairs, education, health, planning, agriculture, sports and youth - with their allocations to the budget and staff and workers to the provinces gradually, Exclusively in the planning of public policy in accordance with Article 45, I.1.

As well as the observations of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which came late on the shortcomings of Resolution 95 on governance and transparency and how to make decisions and presentation of data, especially as most revenues are central revenues, primarily oil revenues of oil, while the government activity on high rates of gross domestic product up to about 67 percent.

Therefore we are in dire need of a new law for financial management in accordance with the law of provincial councils and new decentralized trends in accordance with the standards of governance that ensure transparency and transparency in front of the public, equality, justice and accountability together to ensure the preservation of public money and puts those responsible for its management in front of responsibility.
We are not in the process of ready-made solutions, which are presented in accordance with the size of the country, which may introduce new economic problems.

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