The Treasury Single Account (TSA), an initiative to establish a unified structure for government bank accounts, is proposed to be expanded in scope during the current year, according to Oman’s Ministry of Finance.
Launched early last year as a pilot initiative, the TSA groups all government account balances to show the movement of net revenues and expenses at any given time. When fully rolled out, encompassing a total of 57 government entity, it will contribute to the optimal use of government cash resources. Overall, the TSA aims to improve financial control process, improve treasury management and enhance monetary outlook, the Ministry noted.
Significantly, the TSA is one of several initiatives rolled out by the Ministry to help improve Oman’s overall fiscal performance. At least four of these initiatives, centring on the deployment of effective systems to manage, among other things, public finance, public debt, and national assets, are set to make headway in their implementation during Fiscal 2023, according to the Ministry.
Phase 1 of the TSA initiative, currently focused on the Tax Authority and Ministry of Labour, is close to completion. It will pave the way for the start of Phase 2, covering the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Royal Oman Police.
Also set to make further headway this year is the Ministry’s National Assets Register (NAR). Unveiled for the first time last year, the register is essentially an integrated central system that inventories government assets and helps draft a strategy to ensure centralised management of the assets, as well as to maximise their efficiency and returns.
“This can be achieved through the optimal use of such assets in a way that generate more financial resources for the State budget. The NAR aims to establish a comprehensive central register for all assets owned and supervised by the government. In addition, it aims to show the real value of assets, and centralise the management of government assets,” the Ministry noted in its 2023 General Budget Statement on Sunday.
Targeted for listing and evaluation in the first phase of the NAR project are the assets of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, and Muscat Municipality. Other ministries and government agencies are proposed to be covered in subsequent phases.
Also slated for implementation this year is a Debt Management System (DMS). It is described as a system that promotes effective and proactive management of public debt by recording, reporting and analyzing debt portfolios, and providing tools to organise and track debts, prioritising payments, and developing a plan to repay debts in a timely and effective manner. The DMS is currently being user-tested before it is made operational during the year.
Rounding off the list of financial management systems identified for implementation during 2023 is Maliyah – a modern IT system for managing public finance.
“Maliyah will be used for planning, implementing, controlling, and reporting on the State’s General Budget. It will also help manage the public finance in line with Oman Vision 2040. The system aims to develop public financial management and improve the efficiency in-line with global developments,” the Ministry explained, adding that a contract is set to be awarded for its deployment.
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