US rates Sri Lanka high on fiscal transparency over American funding
Friday, 16 January 2015 00:00
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Sri Lanka was among a group of countries which met the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency when using foreign assistance received from the United States last year.
The Department of State presented the findings from the 2014 financial year fiscal transparency review process in its Fiscal Transparency Report.
The report describes the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency developed by the Department of State in consultation with other relevant federal agencies, identifies governments that are potential beneficiaries of FY 2014 foreign assistance funds, assesses those that did not meet the minimum fiscal transparency requirements, and indicates whether those governments made significant progress towards meeting the requirements.
Sri Lanka, Albania, Angola, Armenia, Argentina, The Bahamas, Belize, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia are among the countries which met the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency.
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi, Egypt and Fiji were among several countries which failed to meet the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency when using foreign assistance received from the United States.
The FY 2014 fiscal transparency review process evaluated whether governments receiving U.S. foreign assistance publicly disclosed budget documents including receipts and expenditures by ministry. The review process also evaluated whether the government has an independent supreme audit institution or similar institution that carries out a yearly verification of financial statements to ensure they meet internationally accepted accounting principles.
The review further assessed the existence and public disclosure of criteria and procedures for awarding government contracts and licenses for natural resource extraction, including bidding and concession allocation practices. The Department applied the following criteria in assessing whether governments met the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency. (Colombo Gazette)
