FISCAL TRANSPARENCY IN ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 000159 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EEB/IFD/OMA-SNOW AND FIGUEROA DEPT FOR WHA/EPSC-MAIER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON PREL XL SUBJECT: FISCAL TRANSPARENCY IN ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA REF: STATE 16737 ¶1. (u) The Government of Antigua and Barbuda practices fiscal transparency by making its national budget publicly available on an annual basis. The government does this by announcing the budget in an open forum of parliament annually and doing a budgetary review in parliament at the end of the fiscal year. Also, the budget is open for public scrutiny through its budgetary offices, and available on the government website. The publicly-available data are generally accurate and meaningful and include all revenues and expenditures. Antigua and Barbuda has not volunteered for the IMF to report on the country's compliance with standards and codes covering fiscal transparency. ¶2. (u) The relevant laws governing fiscal transparency in Antigua and Barbuda have been entered into force in Chapter Six of the Constitution at independence, in the form of a "Chapter on Finance of the Constitution with Authorization of Expenditure from Consolidated Fund by appropriation and Authorization by Expenditure in advance of appropriation." The Constitution went into effect October 31st, 1981. Antigua and Barbuda updated thier laws by promulgating the "Finance and Audit Act of 2006". This act repealed the finance portion of the "Finance and Audit Act of 1993." These laws are adequate and are actively implemented. ¶3. (u) Although USAID is active in the Eastern Caribbean, it currently does not fund programs supporting fiscal transparency or good governance. The Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Center (CARTAC) is available to 19 Caribbean countries to assist these countries to achieve their macroeconomic, fiscal, and monetary policy objectives. This program operates as a UNDP project with the IMF serving as the executive agency. It is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, the Inter-American Development Bank, Ireland, the IMF, the UK Department for International Development, the UNDP, the EU, and the World Bank. OURISMAN