Okaz newspaper

SOME ministries and government departments receive huge revenues, away from allocations in the general budget. It comes in a form of general fees, fines and so on. It means that each of these departments and ministries have excess money that can be used to fix any faults in the services provided to the public.

Why can›t these ministries and departments keep a percentage of their income to accomplish the essential improvement in services?

The question above cannot be answered because all the revenue generated is directly transferred to the Ministry of Finance to avoid any exploitation and corruption that could happen when the spending channels are not transparent.

If the entire amount is transferred to the Ministry of Finance, then why this ministry is not spending any money on improving the services provided at government departments?

This will lead us to financial transparency where information is available on public spending. This includes needs, challenges and reforms. Through transparency in delivering information, there will be a common interest between citizens and the Ministry of Finance that will lead to strengthening accountability, improvement of public services and ultimately the standard of life.

Such an arrangement is better than when information is limited to the amount of money allocated through fees or fines, which is not used to improve the services provided to the public. The issue of money floating from one department to the central department is something that is not very clear to citizens.

Citizens are surprised when a department cannot improve its services even though it receives huge amounts from the government. If they know where the money is going and how it is spent, then there is transparency between the two sides. This will involve many steps, including the citizens being told about what is going around.

Through transparency in delivering information, there will be a common interest between citizens and the Ministry of Finance that will lead to strengthening accountability, improvement of public services and ultimately the standard of life.