CHAD: TRANSPARENCY OF BUDGET/MILITARY SPENDING

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 001691 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/C, AF/EPS, EB/IFD/OMA LGALLAGHER, TREASURY FOR OASIA/MDM JFRANCO, LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN PGOV CD SUBJECT: CHAD: TRANSPARENCY OF BUDGET/MILITARY SPENDING REF: STATE 239929 ¶1. In response to reftel, Post submits the following information concerning the transparency of military spending in Chad. ¶2. Audit process of military expenditures: A formal auditing process is conducted annually by the Budget Office within the Ministry of Finance, in coordination with the Financial Administrative Director, who acts as the liaison between the Ministry of Finance and other government ministries. The results of the audits are reported to the Minister of Finance himself. There is specific legislation to require the auditing of military receipts. However, the Ministry has noted that receipts are not always received in a timely manner, or at all. The Ministry lacks the technical capacity to carry out the auditing process in a precise and timely manner. ¶3. Military/defense component of National Budget: The country's defense budget covers the armed forces. Security forces fall under the Ministry of Public Security and Immigration. The Presidency is responsible for the budget of presidential security. The Ministry of Finance noted to the Embassy the possibility of off-budget military expenditures to address security incidents in the East and South. ¶4. Other facts associated with the Budgetary Process: There is no difference in prioritizing productive (development) and unproductive (military) objectives. During the preparation of the national budget, the National Assembly calls present and former ministers to account for their spending requests. If questions emerge concerning specific requests, the respective Ministry provides more information or explanation to the National Assembly. NNNN