Independent Senator calls for accountability within ministriesIndependent Senator Crystal Drakes wants the Government to guarantee more openness and accountability regarding activities, financial and non-financial, within various ministries.Her call was made on Wednesday during the debate on the Appropriation Bill 2023 in the Upper House.Drakes stated that despite assurances given in the Public Finance Management Act 2019, there was still a lack of transparency within ministries, with no annual reports prepared as mandated by the Act.“The Public Finance Management Act 2019 that we passed in this very chamber, parts seven and eight begin to address some of the things that I am speaking about, but somehow we are not able to implement it,” she said.“Section 89 of the Public Finance Management Act 2019 states ‘a minister shall, no later than three months after the end of every financial year, prepare an annual report on the non-financial performance of the public entities or commercial state-owned enterprises he is responsible for’.”
