HE Yusuf Kamal: Postponing Budget Due to Change in the State's Finance Account

Doha, March 12 (QNA) - HE the Minister Of Economy And Finance Yusuf Hussein Kamal has announced that the postponement of the state budget of next year has occurred because of the great chnage in the state's finance account noting however that such a new system needs radical change in the information technology system. Speaking to reportes after opening the 'Multaqa Qatar 2012' , the sixth annual conference for the international insurance and re-insurance industry, which he opened at Doha Ritz-Carlton Hotel here Monday, HE Yusuf Kamal said the state budget, beginning on the first of April of each year and that any delay must be Quarterly, namely every three months, stressing that the postponement period will not exceed the end of next June. In response to a question by Qatar News Agency (QNA) about the technological and technical matters required by the aforesaid change for preparing the budget from a " traditional budget " to a "programmes and performance," budget , HE the Minister Of Economy and Finance told the reporters that the next year's budget will see a change in the set-up pattern as it will include a a five-year ready programmes that include the cost of those programmes fully from the beginning to the end explaining that in the past years the pattern of preparing the budget each year for the sectors. He referred in this context that the way of preparing the budget conforms with the National Development Strategy 2011/2016 where there are sectoral programmes exceeding 190 sectoral programmes in all sectors within such a strategy . HE the minister furthe said that all programmes will be prepared and studied to find out how much they cost, and eventually will be adopted as indicators of the future budgets, stressing that the adoption of the budget will remain annually. In response to a question about the possibility of enacting of organs or committees to keep pace with this development in the preparation of the budget, HE Yusuf Hussein Kamal said that the Ministry of Economy and Finance will be responsible for that and said an increase is expected in the budget of next year but declined to give any details . The minister cited what HE the prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani has earlier declared that next year's budget will not be less than the approved budget for the current year. Asked about the adoption of a barrel of oil price in the next budget , HE Minister of Economy and Finance said that till now nothing had not yet been addressed in the cabinet concerning the price of a barrel of oil, which will depend on the basis of the budget. The Economy and Finance Minister made clear that the Ministry of Energy and Industry and Qatar Petroleum has adopted its budget at $ 65 a barrel, adding that the price of a barrel of oil has been adopted in the budget of Qatar Petroleum, and not in the budget of the Government of the State of Qatar. He said shortly the control over the insurance companies will be moved from the Ministry of Business and Trade to Qatar Central Bank (QCB), adding that these measures will be complementary to the decision taken on 7 March according to which HE QCB governor became Chairman of the Regulatory Authority Qatar Financial Centre to unify the control organs or regulators on the financial services sector in the country. He pointed out that during the next few days the control authority of Qatar Financial Markets Authority will be amalgamated under the banner of QCB. The two-day conference is being organized by Qatar Financial Center Authority (QFCA) in association with the Global Reinsurance magazine. Multaqa Qatar 2012 brings together the leading minds in international insurance and reinsurance to examine the challenges and opportunities facing the industry. Nearly 400 senior delegates from the global reinsurance industry have signed up to the event, hosted by Global Reinsurance in association with the Qatar Financial Centre. Multaqa Qatar 2012 will debate a number of topics including: the Middle East's role in the Lloyd's international expansion strategy in the insurance industry, reinsurance market outlook - the increasing cost of risk, strategic issues affecting the GCC insurance and reinsurance markets, building effective working relationships between local insurers and international operators, competing for growth and lessons from change - how organizations identify and react to tough economic conditions, the role of ratings in emerging markets, an international economic outlook, with a reference to the Middle Eastern region's place in the world economy and others. Multaqa Qatar was launched in 2007 in order to showcase the burgeoning GCC insurance and reinsurance sector and highlight opportunities for international businesses in the region.(QNA)