By Ustaz Benson Bol Anyar
Ministry of Finance or Government ‘s Agency in charge of finance, fiscal policy and financial regulations, is headed by a finance Minister, an executive or a cabinet position.
The requirements of Minister of Finance and Planning, such as proven economist, a graduate from a recognized University, expertise in financial matters , experience in government, must be able to takes over the financial sector, lead it effectively , must be able to credibly persuade the public that experience will strictly adhere to value for money, must also command the respect of multilateral partners especially the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, African Development Bank, and restructure the national debts in a transparent manner.
The functions of the Minister of Finance differs between countries, they are government finances, economic policy or financial Regulations, Oversight of Monetary Policy, in some countries, Minister of finance is assisted by independent Central Bank Governor or other Ministers or separate government departments with respect to fiscal policy or budget formation. In some countries, there is a separate portfolio for general economic policy in form of Ministry of Economic Affairs or Commerce.
A strong Ministry of Finance and Planning can make sure and check that, budget discipline is strictly enforced so that, spending departments do not make exaggerated claims on the budget and that they stick to their budgets once they have been allocated and approved by parliament. Ministry of Finance Planning must maintain a Pension Account into which an employee (% or any amount to law of basic salary and cost of living allowances) and employer (% of basic salary and cost of living allowance) contribution of eligible republic of South Sudan employees be deposited.
The role of Ministry of Finance and Planning has the economic expertise to prepare macroeconomic projections in the budget because the budget is the main economic policy tool of the government and indicates how it plans to use public resources to meet policy goals. The Ministry of Finance and Planning also plays a crucial role in formulating fiscal policy, guiding the drafting of the budget and later in monitoring budget implementations, the Ministry of Finance and Planning role is that of the guardian of the public purse.
In Some countries, Ministry of Finance is supreme it’s may receive separate direct donations to the coffers of the Ministry from the developmental partners in terms of off budget always implied to help the Minister of Finance cushion budget shortfalls, and to take care of other unforeseen emergencies at realm of Ministry of Finance of the country in question.
This case, the actor’s bodies in the budget process, such as the executive (Cabinet, President), the Legislature (the Parliament), the Civil Society Organisation institutions and Donor agencies, the Independent supreme audit institutions, and the media houses.
The Governor of the Central Bank is just an Advisor to the Minister of Finance and Planning on side of Monetary Policy (money), because the Central Bank recognized that printing too much money causes inflation, but often feel to compelled to do so for political reasons. The Bank of South Sudan have far less independent than do the neighboring countries Central Banks.
Ministry of Finance’s portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as Treasury, Finance, Financial Affairs, Economy or Economic Affairs. The position of Finance Minister might be named for this portfolio may be called in other countries as ‘Treasurer’ in the USA, UK called it ‘Chancellor of the Exchequer ‘.