Government-by-Government Assessments: Haiti

During the review period, the government published its enacted budget online within a reasonable period.  However, the executive budget proposal was not published online within a reasonable period, and because the finance ministry’s website was down at the end of the review period it was unclear whether the end-of-year report had been published online within a reasonable period.  Budget documents were not prepared according to internationally accepted principles.  Limited information on debt obligations was publicly available.  Publicly available budget documents did not provide a substantially complete picture of the government’s planned expenditures and revenues.  While actual revenues and expenditures did not reasonably correspond to those in the enacted budget, the government published a revised budget.  The government maintained off-budget accounts that were not subject to the same oversight and audit as other expenditures.  Topline military budget information was included in the budget, but it was not subject to parliamentary or civilian public oversight.  The supreme audit institution did not meet international standards of independence.  It partially reviewed the government’s accounts, but it did not make its report publicly available within a reasonable period.

Haiti’s fiscal transparency would be improved by:

• Publishing an executive budget proposal and end-of-year report within a reasonable period;
• Ensuring the budget provides a substantially full picture by including major sources of revenue, expenditure, and debt obligations, including major state-owned enterprise debt;
• Preparing budget documents according to internationally accepted principles;
• Producing and publishing a supplemental budget when actual revenues and expenditures do not correspond to those in the enacted budget;
• Eliminating off-budget accounts or subjecting them to adequate oversight and audit;
• Subjecting military budgets to parliamentary or civilian public oversight; and
• Ensuring the supreme audit institution meets international standards of independence, audits the entire annual executed budget, and publishes its findings within a reasonable period.