Kiribati 1979 Constitution (reviewed 2013)

CHAPTER VIII. FINANCE

106. Taxation

No taxation shall be imposed or altered except by or under law.

107. Consolidated Fund and Special Funds

1. There shall be in and for Kiribati a Consolidated Fund into which, subject to the provisions of any law in force in Kiribati, shall be paid all revenues of the Government.
2. The Maneaba ni Maungatabu may make provision for the establishment of Special Funds, which shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund.
3. The receipts, earnings and accruals of Special Funds established under this section and the balance of such funds at the close of each financial year shall not be paid into the Consolidated Fund but shall be retained for the purposes of those funds.

108. Withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Fund

1. No money shall be issued from the Consolidated Fund except upon the authority of a warrant under the hand of the Minister of Finance.
2. No warrant shall be issued by the Minister of Finance for the purpose of meeting any expenditure unless—
   1. the expenditure has been authorised for the financial year during which the issue is to take place by an Appropriation Act; or
   2. the expenditure has been authorised in accordance with the provisions of section 109(4), 110 or 111 of this Constitution; or
   3. it is statutory expenditure.

109. Authorisation of expenditure

1. The Minister of Finance shall cause to be prepared and laid before the Maneaba ni Maungatabu before or not later than sixty days after the commencement of each financial year estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the Government for that year.
2. The heads of expenditure contained in the estimates (other than statutory expenditure) shall be included in a Bill to be known as an Appropriation Bill which shall be introduced into the Maneaba to provide for the issue from the Consolidated Fund of the sums necessary to supply those heads and the appropriation of those sums for the purposes specified therein.
3. If in respect of any financial year it is found that the sum appropriated by the Appropriation Act for any purpose is insufficient or that a need has arisen for expenditure for a purpose for which no sum has been appropriated by that law, a supplementary estimate showing the sums required shall be included in a Supplementary Appropriation Bill for appropriation.
4. Where in respect of any financial year the Minister of Finance is satisfied that an urgent and unforeseen need has arisen to authorise for any purpose advances from the Consolidated Fund for expenditure in excess of the sum appropriated for that purpose by an Appropriation Act, or for a purpose for which no sum has been so appropriated, he may, subject to the provisions of any law in force in that regard, authorise such advances by warrant and shall include such amount in a Supplementary Appropriation Bill for appropriation at the meeting of the Maneaba next following the date on which the warrant was issued.
5. If at the close of account for any financial year it is found that any moneys have been expended on any head in excess of the sum appropriated for that head by an Appropriation Act or for a purpose for which no money has been appropriated, the excess or the sum expended but not appropriated as the case may be shall be included in a statement of heads in excess which, together with the report of the Public Accounts Committee thereon, shall be presented to the Maneaba.
6. Statutory expenditure shall not be voted on by the Maneaba but, without further authority of the Maneaba, shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund by warrant under the hand of the Minister of Finance.

110. Authorisation of expenditure in advance of appropriation

If the Appropriation Act in respect of any financial year has not come into operation by the beginning of that financial year, the Maneaba ni Maungatabu by resolution may empower the Minister of Finance to authorise the issue of moneys from the Consolidated Fund for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the public services at a level not exceeding the level of these services in the previous financial year, until the expiration of four months from the beginning of that financial year or the coming into operation of the Appropriation Act, whichever is the earlier.

111. Delay in Appropriation Act owing to dissolution

Where at any time the Maneaba ni Maungatabu has been dissolved before any provision or any sufficient provision is made under this Chapter for the carrying on of the government of Kiribati, the Minister of Finance may issue a warrant for the payment out of the Consolidated Fund of such sums as he may consider necessary for the continuance of the public services at a level not exceeding the level of these services in the previous financial year, until the expiration of three months from the date on which the Maneaba first meets after that dissolution, but a statement of the sums so authorised shall, as soon as practicable, be laid before the Maneaba and the aggregate sums shall be included, under the appropriate heads, in the next Appropriation Bill.

112. Public debt

1. There shall be charged on the Consolidated Fund all debt charges for which the Government is liable.
2. For the purposes of this section debt charges include interest, sinking fund charges, the repayment or amortisation of debt, and all expenditure in connection with the raising of loans on the security of the revenue of the Government or the Consolidated Fund and the service and redemption of debt thereby created.

113. Remuneration of certain persons

1. There shall be paid to the holders of the offices to which this section applies such salary or other remuneration and such allowances as may be prescribed.
2. The remuneration and allowances payable to the holders of those offices are hereby charged on and shall be paid out of the Consolidated Fund.
3. The remuneration prescribed under this section in respect of the holder of any such office and his other terms of service (other than allowances that are not taken into account in computing, under any law in that behalf, any pension payable in respect of his service in that office) shall not be altered to his disadvantage after his appointment except as part of any alteration generally applicable to public employees.
4. Where a person’s remuneration or other terms of service depend upon his option, the remuneration or terms for which he opts shall, for the purposes of the preceding subsection, be deemed to be more advantageous to him than any others for which he might have opted.
5. This section applies to the offices of Speaker, Chief Justice and other judges of the High Court, President and other judges of the Court of Appeal, Attorney-General (if he is not an elected member of the Maneaba), Auditor General, Commissioner of Police, Chief Electoral Commissioner and other members of the Electoral Commission, and Chairman and other members of the Public Service Commission.

114. The Director of Audit

1. There shall be an Auditor General whose office shall be a public office.
2. The public accounts of Kiribati and of all departments, offices, courts and authorities of the Government shall be audited and reported on annually by the Auditor General, and for that purpose the Auditor General or any person authorised by him in that behalf shall at all times be entitled to access to all books, records, returns and other documents relating to such accounts.
3. The Auditor General shall submit his reports made under the preceding subsection to the Speaker who shall cause them to be laid before the Maneaba ni Maungatabu; and he shall also send a copy of each report to the Beretitenti and to the Minister of Finance.
4. In the exercise of his functions under this section, the Auditor General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.
5. Nothing in this section shall prevent the performance by the Auditor General of—
   1. such other functions in relation to the accounts of the Government and the accounts of other public authorities and statutory or other bodies administering public funds in Kiribati as may be prescribed; or
   2. such other functions in relation to the supervision and control of expenditure from public funds in Kiribati as may be prescribed.

115. Public Accounts Committee

1. There shall be a Public Accounts Committee of the Maneaba ni Maungatabu which shall consist of three members of the Maneaba elected by the Maneaba.
2. No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the Committee if he holds or is acting in the office of Beretitenti, Kauoman-ni-Beretitenti or other Minister, or Attorney-General.
3. The seat of a member of the Committee shall become vacant—
   1. if he ceases to be a member of the Maneaba;
   2. if he assumes the office of Beretitenti or is acting as such;
   3. if he is appointed to the office of Kauoman-ni-Beretitenti or other Minister, or Attorney-General, or to act as such; or
   4. if he is removed by the Maneaba by resolution.
4. The functions of the Committee shall be—
   1. to consider the accounts of the Government in conjunction with the report of the Auditor General;
   2. to report to the Maneaba, in the case of any excess or unauthorised expenditure of funds, the reasons for such expenditure;
   3. to propose any measures it considers necessary to ensure that the funds of the Government are properly and economically spent; and
   4. where a report on the examination and audit of the accounts of any corporation, statutory board, body or commission is required by law to be laid before the Maneaba, to consider, report on and make recommendations to the Maneaba in respect of such accounts.

116. Interpretation

In this Chapter—

1. “financial year” means the twelve months ending on 31st December in any year or on such other date as may from time to time be prescribed;
2. “statutory expenditure” means expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund by virtue of any of the provisions of this Constitution or by virtue of any provision of any other law in force in Kiribati.