NASSAU, Bahamas -- Gaynell Rolle, Under Secretary in The Ministry of Finance explained that during the Budget Exercise in June 2021, the Government enacted a package of legislation intended to modernize and transform public finance, procurement and statistical operations within The Bahamas.

The Public Finance Management Act, Public Debt Management Act, and the Statistics Act took effect on July 1; and the Public Procurement Act will take effect on September 1, the Undersecretary stated during a press conference on Public Procurement & Public Finance Management, Wednesday, August 11, 2021.

“Each Act, according to the policy mandate established by the Government, was designed to raise the standard of existing government processes to meet global best practices with a focus on transparency and accountability.

“The Ministry of Finance has established a transition team to support the implementation of the new legislation and the adoption of the new rules and regulations across government.”

She said the Public Finance Management Act or PFM governs how the public sector manages its finances at every level. It shifts the overall approach to budgeting and public financial management by focusing on outcomes/performance. Rather than an administrative approach, which was the standard with the Financial Administration and Audit Act of 2020, the PFM Act attempts to bring more accountability, transparency and efficiency to fiscal affairs.

Ms. Rolle said the Act is so comprehensive that changes will take effect on a scheduled basis over the next few years.

One of the changes is that over the past few years, the Ministry of Finance has introduced several new reports to provide additional public scrutiny of the Government’s fiscal affairs.

She stated that these include the Fiscal Strategy Report, Quarterly Budget Performance Reports and the new Debt Strategy Report.

“The new PFM Act now requires every government body to maintain this higher level of transparency and forward planning with mandated annual and business plans, quarterly and annual reports that must be presented to Parliament and published online.”

The Undersecretary noted that another key change involves an important new provision in the Public Financial Management Act which is called objection to direction.

She explained that essentially if a public officer feels as though they were given a direction that goes against the Act or any other legislation, there is now a legal process that empowers public servants to formally object.

“This involves a written objection to the Minister or public officer that gave the direction with further oversight by at least two other stakeholders, including the Permanent Secretary, the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Attorney General or Financial Secretary. The intent here is to provide a way for public officers to uphold their oath while protecting themselves against future liability.”

Ms. Rolle stated that another change is that in this Act are clearly defined roles and responsibilities for every stakeholder involved in public financial management, and stronger penalties that serve as a deterrent to misconduct or negligence, such as dismissal, reduction in rank or salary and prosecution.

She said, “The new Act provides each stakeholder - for example, the Accountant General, previously known as the Treasurer, and Principal Accounting Officers such as Permanent Secretaries - more clarity on their roles, responsibilities and obligations. This creates a higher level of accountability across the system, ensuring that public officers carry out their responsibilities in accordance with the Act.”