AKIPRESS.COM - Turkmenistan's budget does not meet the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency, said in the Fiscal Transparency Report done by the Department of State of the U.S.

Among the Central Asian states, the Department assessed only government of Kyrgyzstan as meeting the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency for FY 2014.

"The budget of Turkmenistan is not substantially complete, nor does it provide a breakdown of revenue and expenditures by individual ministry. No information on allocations from the budget to significant state-owned enterprises is disclosed. Turkmenistan’s fiscal transparency would be enhanced by making this information publicly available. Turkmenistan’s fiscal transparency would be further enhanced by disclosing proceeds from the sale of oil and natural gas, which constitute the majority of the government’s revenues, and making public the process for awarding government contracts and licenses for natural resources," said in the report.

This report describes the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency developed by the Department of State in consultation with other relevant federal agencies, identifies governments that are potential beneficiaries of FY 2014 foreign assistance funds, assesses those that did not meet the minimum fiscal transparency requirements, and indicates whether those governments made significant progress towards meeting the requirements.

Fiscal transparency is a critical element of effective public financial management, helps in building market confidence, and sets the stage for economic sustainability.

The Department concluded that, of the 140 governments that were potential beneficiaries of foreign assistance and were evaluated pursuant to the Act, 50 did not meet the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency. Of these, eleven governments made significant progress toward meeting the minimum requirements of fiscal transparency.