Page 9 - Parliament Budget Office Annual Report 2022-2023

In addition to the presentations and reports associated with the Budget - notably the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement and Appropriations Adjustments - the Parliamentary Budget Office has also responded effectively to requests for reports and briefings from the Finance and Appropriations Committees. The Office also continues to produce useful updated information to aid oversight and produce several annual Policy Briefs on the performance of government departments, regular fiscal briefs and quarterly economic briefs. These briefs are distributed to all the Committees of Parliament and are available to the public on the Office webpage. The Advisory Board also notes the Office’s responsiveness to requests for briefings by the Committee of Chairpersons and the Executive Authority, as well as from the Provincial Legislatures.
The Office continues to engage constructively with stakeholders within South Africa. Its work is also to build and strengthen its links with PBOs and other similar organisations involved in fiscal support on the African continent and globally through its involvement in the African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices (AN-PBO) and the Global Networks of PBOs. The Advisory Board thus welcomes the election of the Director, Dr Dumisani Jantjies as the Chairperson of the AN-PBO.
The Parliamentary Budget Office has the necessary experienced and well-qualified technical staff necessary to help it achieve a high level of support for the Finance and Appropriations Committees. The Board indeed recognises that there is demand for experienced and skilled analysts from within the public and private sectors, but this demand has created problems with regard to retaining staff of the calibre required by the Office. While the Office is in a process to fill the Deputy Director Finance role during this period, the Advisory Board has encouraged the Director and the Office to redouble its efforts
Mr CT Frolick, MP
Co-Chairperson PBO Advisory Board
to fill all the posts currently vacant. It has congratulating the Office and its Director on their success in filling their analyst posts with talented, highly skilled professionals so far. Now the Board is looking forward to the further capacitation of the Office as part of the organisational review and restructuring process mentioned earlier.
The Advisory Board commends the Director, Dr Jantjies, and his team for the Office’s achievements over the past year. The Board wishes the Office to build on these successes going forward, while recognising that the Office will require additional resources and professional, skilled staff to build on these achievements. The Office will also have to develop strategies and measures to retain skills in recognition that the competition for skilled professional remains high in South Africa. Our view on behalf of the Advisory Board is that the retention of these skills by the Office will enhance its long-term ability to support the oversight capacity of Parliament over the Executive.
Commenting on behalf of the Advisory Board then, we are pleased with the enormous and visible strides made by the Finance and Appropriations Committees of Parliament including other Parliamentary Committees in holding the Executive to account on public finance matters. It is our hope that the oversight capacity of Parliament will become even stronger in the 7th Parliament and beyond. Moreover, the Advisory Board recognises that the Parliamentary Budget Office continues to play a valuable role in providing technical support to Parliament.
The considered view of the Advisory Board is thus that the technical support provided by the Parliamentary Budget Office during the reporting period - and since the establishment of the Office in 2013 - has indeed supported Parliament in its legislative and oversight functions related to public finance.
Mr AJ Nyambi, MP
Co-Chairperson PBO Advisory Board
PARLIAMENTARY BUDEGT OFFICE ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE 2022/2023 FINANCIAL YEAR
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