THE Office of the Prime Minister is believed to have taken over the spending of the 2023 National Budget, a move which has denied Permanent Secretaries their roles in carrying out their statutory duties and responsibilities.
“All government spendings in the 2023 National Budget as approved by Parliament are now controlled by the Office of the Prime Minister, not the Ministry of Finance and Treasury.
The focus of this shift is the 2023 Pacific Games,” according to those in the know.
As a result, Permanent Secretaries of some Government departments have more or less abandoned their offices as they have no resources to do their work, they said.
“You find these Permanent Secretaries at home, not in their offices during working hours,” they said.
These officials pointed out that the move is flawed because departmental spendings are approved by Parliament.
“Only Parliament has the power to re-allocate budget allocations. This must not be confused with an internal department virement.”
It is understood the government’s unprecedented step in doing this is linked to its inability to sell additional Treasury Bonds to semi government institutions that have already taken tens of millions of dollars without fulfilling the terms of the contracts.
Commercial banks too have been reluctant to take up the Treasury Bond, some citing the government’s inability to honor its commitments.
Solomon Star was unable to get a comment from the Office of the Prime Minister on the report.
By Alfred Sasako
