Breakout Session presentation by Omar Debbakh, Court of Auditors, Algeria

1. COURT OF AUDITORS
2/12/2013- Cour des comptes-ALGERIE
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2. financée principalement par l’UE
Initiative conjointe de l’OCDE et de l’Union européenne,
TRUST IN GOVERNMENT
4TH NETWORKING SEMINAR
Paris, 02-03 December 2013
© OCDE

3. FISCAL TRANSPARENCY: A REINFORCING FACTOR
FOR TRUST IN GOVERNMENT
« The role of the Algerian Court of Auditors in the
draft budgetary regulation bill »
By
Mr OMAR
DEBBAKH
President of the Regional Audit Chamber of Blida
Court of Auditors
Algeria
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5. What about Algeria?
Like many countries, Algeria is going through deep changes in every
area, generating greater and greater expectations which are difficult to
satisfy due to the global financial situation and its disastrous impact on
national economy.
In this context, the Court of Auditors, as a supreme audit institution,
has a major role in this search for transparency, through the annual
report it presents to the President of the Republic and the report on
the draft budgetary regulation bill (D.B.R.B.), further developed into
INTOSAI control standards for the part relating to the accountability
and transparency requirement in its work.
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6. The budgetary regulation bill :
An ex post control mechanism of budget implementation
1. Definition:
- according to the article 05 of the organic law 84-17 of July 7 1984
relating to the budget laws, the B.R.B. is the act by which the
implementation of a budget law and, where required,
complementary or modifying budget laws pertaining to each fiscal
year, are accounted for ».
2.



Legal basis:
Art.160 of the Constitution,
Art. 02,05,68,76,77 and 78 of the Organic Budget Law,
Art.18 of the amended and completed ruling 95-20 of July 1995 relating
to the Court of Auditors.
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7. Framework for designing the BRB
BRB blueprint+
explanatory report
+ annexes +
evaluation report
Evaluation
report
Draft BRB +
explanatory
report+
annexes
LRB
passed
Draft BRB
CGAF
CGAF + management account
Administrative
account
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Management account
Note d’accord (NC 13 + NC14)
Yearly and
monthly
accounting
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8. 3.
The evaluation report
This report from the Court of
Auditors is drafted by the
reporter in charge of DBRB,
assisted since 2012 by a group
of ten high judges
representing every trial
chamber (except CDBF).
After several readings, it is
adopted by the CPR, then
passed on to the government for
adoption before being
submitted to the Parliament.
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It is made of sector-specific
memos examining the
ministerial department
management conditions
resulting from the audits
carried out, after being the
subject of an adversarial
procedure with the
interested managers.
Thus, recommendations
are submitted to these
managers, in order for
them to make governance
improvements.
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9. 4.Publication
 This report is not meant to be published; a summary only is
attached to the annual report, which can be published.
 The President of the Republic takes the decision whether to publish the
annual report.
 It is passed on to all the country’s elected representatives (PNA and
Senate), in annex to the draft regulation bill,
 These representatives request the Court of Auditors to participate in the
debates surrounding this presentation and the audition of the concerned
ministers.
 Medias information
the essential information is made public.
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10. BUDGET TRANSPARENCY IN ALGERIA :
A. EVIDENCES :
 Algeria had to wait for 31 years (since 1981) for the budgetary
regulation bill for fiscal year 2008 to be presented and adopted in
2011.
 The budgetary regulation bill is introduced in the fiscal year N-3;
 The Parliament has regained a “new” prerogative in 2011;
 The BRB, and above all the Court of Auditors evaluation report,
have led to :
a resurgence of the debate on budget
transparency and special treasury accounts or, to use a colloquial
expression, “slush funds”, exceeding 100 CAS ,
an issue related to budget transparency that de facto asks
the question of funds allocation and traceability.
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11. B. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:
 The return of BRBs is a sign of the Algerian government’s will to increase
budget transparency. Through the BRB introduction,
 the citizen is targeted through the members of parliament.
 Important and new official channels of information are created for greater
transparency:
 Local level: citizen participation in the new Communal code, national
conferences of local communities, ex ante financial audit spread to
municipalities,…
 National level: updated websites for every ministry, CNES (National Economic
and Social Council), national statistics office, widespread ICT, Algerian
universities beginning to teach budget management, communications from
the Bank of Algeria, mandatory publicity for public procurements, special
treasury accounts reorganised andreduced, reform of the public finances
legal and regulatory framework…).
The reinforcement of audit institutions prerogatives guarantees
this improvement
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12. C. The Court of Auditors: potential factor for budget transparency
 Realities:
has begun, for the last
years, to produce reports on
various public policies
(health, education, housing,
computerisation, literacy,
subsidies, taxation, public
debt etc.) leading to differing
reactions from persons
subject to trials.
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The current numerous
legal constraints for
independently publishing
its work for the public
hinders greatly the
ordinary citizen from
admitting its usefulness.
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13.  Challenges:
 Legally provided for, consultation of the Court of Auditors by the executive and
legislative power has been limited, for the time being, to its participation to the
DBRB through its evaluation report, as stated previously.

Assistance not requested by the executive, or by the parliament,

Obstacles:
 Public finances reform not yet completed,
 DBRB introduced for fiscal year N-3 instead of N-1 ,
 Evaluation report passed on to National People’s Assembly through the
government,
 inability to publish itself the evaluation report and the annual report or its
reports summaries,
 weak communication with specialised audience and the general public.

For two years, the Court of Auditors has been trying to review the methodology
previously used in preparing the report, for greater efficiency and transparency
and with the purpose of serving the interests of the citizen, to whom the
government must be accountable for every penny spent
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14. Finally, every step undertaken by the Court of Auditors towards
greater public finances transparency is related to and dependant
on a demonstrated political commitment and on the nation’s
elected representatives who are truly in charge of controlling voted
budgets
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15. ‫شكرا‬
.
Thank you for your attention
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