Botswana 1966 Constitution (reviewed 2016)

CHAPTER VIII. Finance (ss 117-124)

117. Consolidated Fund

All revenues or other moneys raised or received for the purposes of the Government of Botswana (not being revenues or other moneys that are payable by or under any law into some other fund established for a specific purpose or that may by or under any law be retained by the department of Government that received them for the purposes of defraying the expenses of that department) shall be paid into and form one Consolidated Fund.

118. Withdrawals from Consolidated Fund or other public funds

1. No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except—
   1. to meet expenditure that is charged upon the Fund by this Constitution or by any Act of Parliament;
   2. where the issue of those moneys has been authorized by an Appropriation Act, by a supplementary estimate approved by resolution of the National Assembly or by a law enacted in pursuance of section 120 of this Constitution.
2. No moneys shall be withdrawn from any public fund of Botswana other than the Consolidated Fund unless the issue of those moneys has been authorized by or under a law.
3. No moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except in the manner prescribed by Parliament.
4. The deposit of any moneys forming part of the Consolidated Fund with a bank or with the Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administrations or the investment of any such moneys in securities in which, under the law for the time being in force in Botswana, trustees are authorized to invest, or the making of advances to such extent and in such circumstances as may be prescribed by Parliament, shall not be regarded as a withdrawal of those moneys from the Fund for the purposes of this section.

119. Authorization of expenditure

1. The Minister for the time being responsible for finance shall cause to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly, before or not later than 30 days after the commencement of each financial year, estimates of the revenues and expenditure of Botswana for that year.
2. The organisations of expenditure contained in the estimates for a financial year (other than expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund by this Constitution or any other law) shall be included in a Bill to be known as an Appropriation Bill which shall be introduced into the Assembly to provide for the issue from the Consolidated Fund of the sums necessary to meet that expenditure and the appropriation of those sums for the purposes specified in the said Bill.
3. If in any financial year it is found—
   1. that the amount appropriated by the Appropriation Act for the purposes included in any organisation of expenditure is insufficient or that a need has arisen for expenditure for a purpose for which no amount has been appropriated by the Appropriation Act; or
   2. that any moneys have been expended on any organisation of expenditure in excess of the amount appropriated for the purposes included in that organisation by the Appropriation Act or for a purpose for which no amount has been appropriated by the Appropriation Act,

   a supplementary estimate showing the sums required or spent shall be laid before the National Assembly and the organisations of expenditure shall be included in a supplementary Appropriation Bill, or in a motion or motions approving such expenditure, which shall be introduced or moved in the Assembly.

4. Where any supplementary expenditure has been approved in a financial year by a resolution of the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, a supplementary Appropriation Bill shall be introduced in the National Assembly, not later than the end of the financial year next following, providing for the appropriation of the sums so approved.

120. Authorization of expenditure in advance of appropriation

Parliament may make provision under which, if the Appropriation Act in respect of any financial year has not come into operation by the beginning of that financial year, the President may authorize the withdrawal of moneys from the Consolidated Fund for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the Government 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.

121. Contingencies Fund

1. Parliament may make provision for the establishment of a Contingencies Fund and for authorizing the President, if satisfied that there has arisen an urgent and unforeseen need for expenditure for which no other provision exists, to make advances from that Fund to meet that need.
2. Where any advance is made from the Contingencies Fund, a supplementary estimate shall be laid before the National Assembly as soon as possible for the purpose of replacing the amount so advanced.

122. Remuneration of certain officers

1. There shall be paid to the holders of the offices to which this section applies such salaries and such allowances as may be prescribed by Parliament.
2. The salaries and any allowances payable to the holders of the offices to which this section applies shall be a charge on the Consolidated Fund.
3. The salary payable to the holder of any office to which this section applies and his or her terms of office, other than allowances, shall not be altered to his or her disadvantage after his or her appointment.
4. Where a person’s salary or terms of office depend upon his or her option, the salary or terms for which he or she opts shall, for the purposes of subsection (3) of this section, be deemed to be more advantageous to him or her than any others for which he or she might have opted.
5. This section applies to the offices of judge of the Court of Appeal, judge of the High Court, member of the Public Service Commission, member of the Judicial Service Commission, member of the Delimitation Commission, Director of Public Prosecutions and Attorney-General.

123. Public debt

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

124. Auditor-General

1. There shall be an Auditor-General, whose office shall be a public office.
2. The public accounts of Botswana and of all officers, courts and authorities of the Government of Botswana shall be audited and reported on by the Auditor-General and for that purpose the Auditor-General or any person authorized by him or her in that behalf shall have access to all books, records, reports and other documents relating to those accounts:Provided that, if it is so provided by Parliament in the case of any body corporate directly established by law, the accounts of that body corporate shall be audited and reported on by such person as may be specified by or under that law.
3. The Auditor-General shall submit his or her reports to the Minister responsible for finance, who shall cause them to be laid before the National Assembly.
4. The Auditor-General shall perform such other duties and exercise such other powers in relation to the accounts of the Government or the accounts of other public authorities or other bodies as may be prescribed by or under any Act of Parliament.
5. In the exercise of his or her functions the Auditor-General shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.