2020-21 to 2022-2023: Sindh's two departments to jointly prepare budget strategy paper

Sindh Finance Department and Planning & Development Department will jointly develop a budget strategy paper from 2020-21 to 2022-2023.

Administrative departments of the provincial government would aid these two departments to finalising this strategy paper, official document of the Sindh government indicated.

The Finance Department will issue expenditure ceilings in line with the (draft) budget strategy, which the administrative departments have to strictly adhere to these ceilings.

The Sindh government has embarked upon a Public Financial Management (PFM) reform agenda to support improvement in service delivery and performance in administrative departments.

The reform agenda was approved by the cabinet in October 2014 in the shape of PFM Reform Strategy. While the full implementation of the PFM Reform Strategy will be phased over the coming years, these reforms have been started to impact on the budget process from recent past.

The important interventions during the preparation of the 2020-21 budget include the preparation of a Budget Strategy Paper (BSP), and its presentation in the cabinet is a first step in budget formulation.

The purpose of this BSP is to provide key directions for the preparation of the budget. The strategy paper will be prepared jointly by the Finance Department and Planning & Development Department in consultation with relevant stakeholders. Based on the overall resource availability and government priorities provided in the BSP, the Finance Department will prepare and forward Indicative Budget Ceilings to all administrative departments.

This is an important change which will provide indications of resources available to each principal accounting officer, official document suggested.

The Budget Call Circular has integrated the formulation of the recurrent (non-development) & development budget and it is being issued in consultation with Planning & Development Department.

The Planning & Development Department will have the lead role in development budget formulation, whereas, the Finance department will be formulating the non-development budget, receipts and MTBF.

The budgetary proposals, to be submitted by all administrative departments will be scrutinised by Finance Department and Planning & Development Department.

The administrative departments will prepare their proposals in accordance with the new Master Data which was revised during fiscal year 2016-17 for the elements demand, entity and cost centre.

Provincial government also directed the administrative departments to submit revised estimates for FY 2019-20 by February 20, 2020 with Finance Department.

Only in exceptional cases, administrative departments may request the Finance Department for a supplementary budget, which would require the approval from the provincial government.