Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Possible amalgamation of FMBS and Finance. While consolidating the Financial Management Board Secretariat and the Department of Finance was one of the twenty-four options considered by the new Assembly earlier this year, committee members now feel strongly that this proposal should be abandoned. The Committee does not believe that the agency primarily responsible for collecting and managing revenue, Finance, should be under the same roof as the agency primarily responsible for budgeting and expenditure management, FMBS.
Committee members were glad to hear that the proposal is on hold due to other priorities, but this is not enough. The Committee does not want to see any more government resources assigned to this issue. Therefore, I move that the Committee recommend that the government abandon any plans to amalgamate the Department of Finance and the Financial Management Board Secretariat.