11. Establishment of the National Treasury (1) There is established, pursuant to Article 225 of the Constitution, an entity of the national government to be known as the National Treasury.

(2) The National Treasury shall comprise of— (a) the Cabinet Secretary; (b) the Principal Secretary; and 19 No. 18 of 2012 Public Finance Management [Rev. 2020] (c) the department or departments, office or offices of the National Treasury responsible for economic and financial matters.

(3) The Cabinet Secretary shall be the head of the National Treasury. 12. General responsibilities of the National Treasury

(1) Subject to the Constitution and this Act, the National Treasury shall— (a) formulate, implement and monitor macro-economic policies involving expenditure and revenue; (b) manage the level and composition of national public debt, national guarantees and other financial obligations of national government within the framework of this Act and develop a framework for sustainable debt control; (c) formulate, evaluate and promote economic and financial policies that facilitate social and economic development in conjunction with other national government entities; (d) mobilise domestic and external resources for financing national and county government budgetary requirements; (e) design and prescribe an efficient financial management system for the national and county governments to ensure transparent financial management and standard financial reporting as contemplated by

Article 226 of the Constitution: Provided that the National Treasury shall prescribe regulations that ensure that operations of a system under this paragraph respect andpromote the distinctiveness of the national and county levels of government; (f) in consultation with the Accounting Standards Board, ensure that uniform accounting standards are applied by the national government and its entities; (g) develop policy for the establishment, management, operation and winding up of public funds; (h) within the framework of this Act and taking into consideration the recommendations of the Commission on Revenue Allocation and the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council, prepare the legislative proposals on annual Division of Revenue and County Allocation of Revenue; (i) strengthen financial and fiscal relations between the national government and county governments and encourage support for county governments in terms of Article 190(1) of the Constitution in performing their functions; and (j) assist county governments to develop their capacity for efficient, effective and transparent financial management in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters relating to intergovernmental relations.

(2) The National Treasury shall have the following functions, in addition to those in subsection (1)— (a) promote transparency, effective management and accountability with regard to public finances in the national government; 20 [Rev. 2020] Public Finance Management No. 18 of 2012 (b) ensure proper management and control of, and accounting for the finances of the national government and its entities in order to promote the efficient and effective use of budgetary resources at the national level; (c) co-ordinate the preparation of annual appropriation accounts and other statutory financial reports by the national government and its entities; (d) prepare annual estimates of revenue of the national government, and co-ordinate the preparation of the budget of the national government; (e) consolidate reports of annual appropriation accounts and other financial statements of the national government and county governments and their entities; (f) report every four months to the National Assembly on the implementation of the annual national budget on areas not reported on by the Controller of Budget; (g) be the custodian of an inventory of national government assets except as may be provided by other legislation or the Constitution; (h) monitor the management of the finances of public enterprises and investments by the national government and its entities; (i) monitor the financial aspects of risk management strategies and governance structures for the national government and national government entities; (j) monitor the financial performance of state corporations; and (k) issue guidelines to national government entities with respect to financial matters and monitoring their implementation and compliance.

(3) The National Treasury shall take such other action, not inconsistent with the Constitution, as will further the implementation of this Act. [Act No. 6 of 2014, s. 3.]

13. Powers of the National Treasury (1) The Cabinet Secretary may generally give to the National Treasury such powers as are necessary to facilitate the Cabinet Secretary and national government to exercise their powers in the Constitution, and in particular, the National Treasury may do all or any of the following— (a) with prior notification to the entity, access any system of public financial management and control of national government entity; (b) where reasonably necessary in the execution, of its functions, access the premises of any national State Organ or other public entity and inspect the entity’s records and other documents relating to financial matters after giving notice; (c) require national government entities to comply with any specified applicable norms or standards regarding accounting practices and budget classification systems; (d) require any public officer in the national government to provide information and if necessary, explanations with respect to matters concerning public finance: 21 No. 18 of 2012 Public Finance Management [Rev. 2020] Provided that a person providing information shall not be liable if at the time of providing the information that person, in writing, objected to providing such information on grounds that the information may incriminate him or her; (e) provide any County Treasury with any information as it may require to carry out its responsibilities under the Constitution and this Act; and (f) perform any other act as the Cabinet Secretary may consider necessary including power to intervene where a state entity or state organ fails to operate a financial system that complies with requirements provided for under this Act or is in serious material breach under this Act or in accordance with Articles 190 and 225 of the Constitution.

(2) The National Treasury may authorise any of its officers in writing to carry out a responsibility or exercise a power specified in the authorisation on behalf of the National Treasury.

(3) When acting in terms of subsection (2), an authorised officer, if requested by the person in relation to whom the responsibility or power is being carried out or exercised, shall produce the authorisation for inspection and failure to comply with that request invalidates any subsequent action purporting to be taken in terms of the authorisation.