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FINANCE

216. All revenues or other moneys raised or received by Guyana (not being revenues or other moneys that are payable, by or under an Act of Parliament, into some other fund established for any specific purpose or that may, by or under such an Act, be retained by the authority that received them for the purpose of defraying the expenses of that authority) shall be paid into and form one Consolidated Fund.

217.

(1) No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except -

(a) to meet expenditure that is charged upon the Fund by this Constitution or by any Act of Parliament; or

(b) where the issue of those moneys has been authorised by an Appropriation Act; or

(c) where the issue of those moneys has been authorised under article 219.

(2) Where any moneys are charged by this Constitution or any Act of Parliament upon the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund, they shall be paid out of that fund by the Government of Guyana to the person or authority to whom payment is due.

(3) No moneys shall be withdrawn from any public fund other than the Consolidated Fund unless the issue of those moneys has been authorised by or under an Act of Parliament.

(4) Parliament may prescribe the manner in which withdrawals may be made from the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund.

218.

(1) The Minister responsible for Finance or any other Minister designated by the President shall cause to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly before or within ninety days after the commencement of each financial year estimates of the revenues and expenditure of Guyana for that year.

(2) When the estimates of expenditure (other than expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund by this Constitution or any Act of Parliament) have been approved by the Assembly a Bill, to be know as an Appropriation Bill, shall be introduced in the Assembly, providing for the issue from the Consolidated Fund of the sums necessary to meet that expenditure and the appropriation of those sums for the purposes specified therein.

(3) If in respect of any financial year it is found-

(a) that the amount appropriated by the Appropriation Act for any purpose is insufficient or that a need has arisen for expenditure for a purpose for which no amount has been appropriated by that Act; or

(b) that any moneys have been expended for any purpose in excess of the amount appropriated for that purpose by the Appropriation Act or for a purpose for which no amount has been appropriated by that Act, a supplementary estimate or, as the case may be, a statement of excess showing the sums required or spent shall be laid before the Assembly by the Minister responsible for finance or any other Minister designated by the President.

219.

(1) Parliament may make provision under which, if the Appropriation Act in respect of any financial year has not come into operation by the beginning of that financial year, the Minister responsible for finance may authorise the withdrawal of moneys from the Consolidated Fund for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the Government of Guyana until the expiration of four months from the beginning of that financial year or the coming into operation of the Act, whichever is the earlier.

(2) Where a supplementary estimate or statement of excess is laid before the National Assembly under paragraph (3) of the preceding article or paragraph (2) of the next following article and is approved by the Assembly by resolution, that resolution shall be authority for the issue of the sums in question from the Consolidated Fund, but the aggregate sums the issue of which is so approved shall be included, under appropriate heads, in a supplementary Appropriation Bill.

(3) Where at any time Parliament has been dissolved before any provision or any sufficient provision is made under this Title for the carrying on of the Government of Guyana, the Minister responsible for finance may authorise the withdrawal of such sums from the Consolidated Fund as he may consider necessary for the purpose of meeting expenditure on the public services until the expiry of a period of three months commencing with the date on which the National Assembly first meets after that dissolution, but a statement of the expenditure so authorised shall, as soon as practicable be laid before the Assembly by the Minister responsible for finance or any other Minister designated by the President and, when the statement has been approved by the Assembly, that expenditure shall be included, under the appropriate heads, in the next Appropriation Bill.

220.

(1) Parliament may make provision for the establishment of a Contingencies Fund and for authorising the Minister responsible for finance to make advances from that Fund if he is satisfied that there is an urgent need for expenditure for which no other provision exists.

(2) Where any advance is made from the Contingencies Fund a supplementary estimate shall, as soon as practicable be laid before the National Assembly by the Minister responsible for finance or any other Minister designated by the President for the purpose of authorising the replacement of the amount so advanced.

221. The public debt of Guyana and service of that debt (including the interest on that debt, sinking funds payments and redemption moneys in respect of that debt and costs, charges and expenses of and incidental to the management of that debt) are hereby charged on the Consolidated Fund.

222.

(1) There shall be paid to the holders of the offices to which this article applies such salaries and such allowances as may be prescribed by orunder any law or, in the case of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, as may be determined under article 158(4).

(2) The salaries and allowances payable to the holders of the offices to which this article applies are hereby charged on the Consolidated Fund.

(3) The salary and allowances payable to the holder of any office to which this article applies and his other terms of service shall not be altered to his disadvantage after his appointment, and, for the purposes of this paragraph, in so far as the terms of service of any person depend upon the option of that person, the terms for which he opts shall be taken to be more advantageous to him than any other terms for which he might have opted.

(4) This article applies to the offices of President, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, any Judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature, members of the Elections Commission, the Judicial Service Commission, the Public Service Commission, the Teaching Service Commission or the Police Service Commission, the Ombudsman, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Auditor General and the Commissioner of Police.

222A. In order to assure the independence of the entities listed in the Third Schedule -

(a) the expenditure of each of the entities shall be financed as a direct charge on the Consolidated Fund, determined as a lump sum by way of an annual subvention approved by the National Assembly after a review and approval of the entity's annual budget as a part of the process of the determination of the national budget;

(b) each entity shall manage its subvention in such manner as it deems fit for the efficient discharge of its functions, subject only to conformity with the financial practices and procedures approved by the National Assembly to ensure accountability; and all revenues shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund;

(c) the terms and conditions applicable to grants and donations destined for the entities shall be approved by, and disbursements shall be made through, such appropriate government agency or department as determined by the National Assembly.

223.

(1) There shall be an Auditor General for Guyana, whose office shall be a public office.

(2) The public accounts of Guyana and of all officers and authorities of the Government of Guyana (including the Commissions established by this Constitution) and the accounts of the Clerk of the National Assembly and of all courts in Guyana shall be audited and reported on by the Auditor General, and for that purpose the Auditor General or any person authorised by him in that behalf shall have access to all books, records, returns and other documents relating to those accounts.

(3) The Auditor General shall submit his reports to the Speaker of the National Assembly, who shall cause them to be laid before the National Assembly.

(4) In the exercise of his functions under this Constitution, the Auditor General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority.

(5) The Public Accounts Committee may exercise general supervision over the functioning of the office of the Auditor General in accordance with the Rules, Policies and Procedures Manual for the functioning of the office of the Auditor General as prepared by the Auditor General and approved by the Public Accounts Committee.

(6) The Auditor General shall prepare and submit to the Public Accounts Committee reports, on a quarterly basis, on the performance and operation of the office of the Auditor General.

(7) The Auditor General shall submit annually a copy of an Annual Systems and Financial Audit Report with respect to the office of the Auditor General to the Public Accounts Committee.

(8) In this article -

(a) "Public Accounts Committee" means the Public Accounts Committee established by order 70(2) of the Standing Orders of the National Assembly; and

(b) "public accounts of Guyana" includes the accounts of -

(i) all central and local government bodies and entities;

(ii) all bodies and entities in which the State has a controlling interest; and

(iii) all projects funded by way of loans or grants by any foreign State or organisation.