(2017-05) Circular No. 004 on the Use of Resources and the Solicitation of Funds by Public Institutions
Summary — Dated 15 May 2017, this Prime Minister's circular bars ministries and public institutions from seeking or soliciting funds outside the channels established by the budget law and forbids autonomous agencies from responding to such off-budget requests. It grounds the rule in the 4 May 2016 organic budget-process law.
Key Findings
- All state and public-agency resources must be established by law and recorded in the general budget under Article 22 of the 4 May 2016 finance-law-process act.
- Ministers and state officials are formally barred from seeking additional funds outside legally established channels.
- Autonomous agencies are instructed to refuse funding requests from ministries or institutions that do not conform to the law.
- Enforcement responsibility rests with the Minister of Economy and Finance and with each supervising ministry.
Full Description
Circular No. 004, signed by Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant on 15 May 2017, cites Article 22 of the 4 May 2016 law (replacing the 16 February 2005 decree) on the preparation and execution of finance laws, which requires that all state and public-agency resources be established by law and recorded in the general budget. On that basis, the circular declares it formally prohibited for any minister or other state official to seek or solicit additional funds outside the norms and procedures set by law and regulation, and instructs autonomous agencies to refuse any request from a ministry or public institution that does not conform to those legal prescriptions. It charges the Minister of Economy and Finance and all supervising ministers with ensuring compliance across the agencies under their tutelage.