GUINEA STILL HAS NO 2009 BUDGET

UNCLAS CONAKRY 000725


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EFIN PGOV GV
SUBJECT: GUINEA STILL HAS NO 2009 BUDGET

REF: CONAKRY 701

GUINEA STILL HAS NO 2009 BUDGET


1. (U) SUMMARY. With just one month left in the 2008 fiscal
year and the National Assembly budgetary session only days
away from expiring, the GoG has yet to finalize even a draft
2009 budget. Given the lengthy budgetary process, it is
unlikely that a budget will be in place by the end of the
fiscal year on December 31. If the GoG starts off the new
year without a budget, the president will have to authorize
"essential" spending by decree. Guinean law does not provide
for a continuing resolution as is the case in the U.S. END
SUMMARY.

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OVERVIEW OF THE BUDGETARY PROCESS
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2. (U) Approval of the national budget in Guinea is a
multi-step procedure. The Ministry of Finance kicks off the
process by organizing revenue and spending data for other
ministries. Based on these data, cabinet ministers then
prepare draft budgets for their individual ministries. After
the president approves the consolidated budget, the Secretary
General of the Government passes the document to the
President of the National Assembly, who relays it to the
chairmen of the committees that have budgetary oversight over
the ministries. Once the committees have reviewed and
approved their separate portions of the budget, the National
Assembly votes on the entire package. The ratified document
then passes to President Conte for promulgation. This
process generally takes several months.

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CABINET IS STILL DRAFTING BUDGET
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3. (U) Though the National Assembly's annual budgetary
session opened in late September, the cabinet has not yet
finished preparing draft budgets for all the ministries. As
a result, the Assembly has had no document to consider
(reftel). In past years, a draft budget was typically
presented to the Assembly at the opening of the session.

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PRESIDENT MAY AUTHORIZE ESSENTIAL INTERIM SPENDING
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4. (U) Should the GoG fail to pass a budget by the end of the
fiscal year, President Conte must authorize by decree
spending deemed essential, such as day-to-day ministerial
operations, salaries, and fuel. A contact in the Ministry of
Finance told EconLES that when the current session expires
later this month, President Conte plans to convene an
extraordinary session 30 days thereafter to continue budget
deliberations. This interim period of 30 days between
sessions is required by the constitution.

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COMMENT
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5. (U) The GoG has been making numerous financial promises
to various groups, such as the military, but does not have
even a draft budget in place to reflect these commitments.
The requirement of the presidential authorization for basic
spending after January 1 could cause further problems for a
government that is already strapped for cash. Meanwhile, the
National Assembly has been in session for nearly two months
with nothing to do since it can only look at draft
legislation during the spring session on laws. END COMMENT.


RASPOLIC