By Bida Elly David
The Economic and governance clusters have on Friday passed the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill and referred the financial management and accountability Act back to the Ministry of Justice for further scrutiny over unjustifiable variables.
The meeting was chaired by the First Vice President Dr Riek Machar Teny and attended by the members of the two clusters respectively.
Speaking to Journalists after the meeting yesterday, Petroleum Minister, Puot Kang Chol said that the two clusters deliberated on the two bills but traced out issues on the public finance and accountability bill 2011 amended 2022 which needed clarification from the committee.
“We had a joint cluster meeting. We discussed two important agendas. One is the financial management and accountability act 2011 amended 2022 and the second was the petroleum revenue management act 2013 amended bill 2022. During the deliberation, the petroleum revenue management act 2013 amended bill was passed unanimously by the two clusters,” he said.
He said that the return was with the intention to conduct a joint meeting of the governors and the economic clusters with the national constitutional amendment committee for deliberation.
“The two clusters will have a meeting with the national constitutional amendment committee (NCAC), the drafters of the bill to come and clarify on some questions by some members of the clusters,” Puot said.
Puot said that the meeting scheduled to take place on Tuesday next week will focus on a comprehensive analysis of the finance management act.
“The two clusters and the NCAC will meet where they will have discussions over such act together with the petroleum act 2012 and thereafter whatever is recommended shall be submitted to the Council of ministers for final deliberations and resolutions,” he said.
Furthermore, minster Puot did not reveal the mistakes or errors found within the public finance management act saying that it will be communicated after.
“The questions were made by the members requiring the national constitutional amendment committee to come and clarify to us,” he said.
Minister Puot further said that the ministry of petroleum has been restricted from financial management since the finance ministry takes the lead in running monetary matters.
“There is clarity in everything we do, bid as the ministry of finance or us but it also restricts us and the boundaries are now clear and known to all of us and both ministries will know where they will stop,” he said.
However, Puot failed to answer questions on the account of whether Nile pet has been managed by the Office of the President saying that it was not part of the discussion.
“That is part of the petroleum act but it is not yet discussed and I can’t comment on that. We produce; we market the oil and stop from there. The revenues go to the Central bank, once it reaches there, it is the responsibility of the ministry of finance,” he said.
He concluded that recommendations from the deliberations will determine the fate of the bill of public finance management and accountability.