27.03.2014.

Extended session of Collegium of Minister of Defence and Chief of General Staff

At the House of Guard "Topčider" today, an extended session of the Collegium of the Minister of Defence and Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces has been held.

The session was chaired by Nebojsa Rodic, Minister of Defence in the caretaker government. The session analysed report on the execution of defence budget in 2013 and the Draft Performance Audit Report on management of company vehicles of Direct Budget Beneficiaries of the Republic of Serbia, which was prepared by the State Audit Institution.

The purpose of the analysis of the Report on the execution of defence budget in 2013, in addition to informing members of the Collegium was necessary streamlining of the expenditures of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, that is, more efficient and more effective use of budget funds with full preservation of operational and functional capabilities of our armed forces. In this way, the Ministry of Defence provides a visible and distinctive contribution to the implementation of the Strategy on Development of Internal Financial Control in Public Sector in the Republic of Serbia.

It was concluded that the Ministry of Defence and all the defence function holders within the MoD and SAF make conclusions and define measures for planned and rational use of the approved funds in the forthcoming period and to apply them in the budgeting process for 2015. The focus is on defining priorities, possible measures for streamlining and creating conditions for long-term acquisition plan in the Serbian Armed Forces, which is essential, necessary and urgent.

In the Draft Performance Audit Report of the State Audit Institution on management of company vehicles of Direct Budget Beneficiaries of the Republic of Serbia, which was compiled for the first time in the Republic of Serbia, the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces were highlighted as an example of good practice according to all audit issues. During the Performance Audit, in accordance with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness, the methods of prescribing the use, planned use, usage procedure, monitoring and control of the use of official vehicles were reviewed.

It was pointed out that the Ministry of Defence performed detailed and substantive analyses and undertook activities aimed at cost-effective and efficient management of official vehicles and that the MoD is the only public administration body in the sample which developed criteria and procedures for the use of official vehicles. Also, the Ministry of Defence is the only direct budget beneficiary which specified in its internal act that only two persons can have permanent use of the vehicle.