According to communication from the office of President Felix Tshisekedi, the Presidency spent USD10 million for the month of July 2020. The amount formed part of the 26% the Presidency had already used, out of the USD200 million budget allocation for the financial year, the communication further elaborated.
However as these figures were being released and distributed across the media, the General Directorate of Budget Policies and Programming (the institution that oversees and monitors expenditures across all state institutions) quickly came out with its own report, which clearly contradicted the information provided by the Presidency.
Out of that amount the Presidency had instead utilised USD17,3 million for the month of July 2020, which was more than triple the expenditure amount allocated for that month. This despite the Presidency's claim that it had not exceeded its budget allocation for that period.
The Ministry of Budget had set aside around USD15 million for the Presidency for the month of July, August and September 2020, putting a cap of USD5 million on monthly expenditures. But it seems the funds was depleted in just a month.
While communication from the Presidency claimed that so far the office of the President of the Republic has spent USD56 million of its budget allocation, the PEB puts this figure at USD81 million. This is 53% of the Presidential budget spent from January to July 2020, and not 26% as mentioned earlier.
The information given by the General Directorate of Budget Policies and Programming is supported with documents from expenditure chain, including authorisation and transfer of payments.
The budget allocation for the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo is determined through a treasury plan drawn by the Minister of Finance. The funds made available by the Finance ministry will then enable the Ministry of Budget, through the budget commitment plan, to calculate how much it will be able to allocate for the President's expenses.
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