New rules for accepting donation in public institutions

Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Finance Matrook Al-Mutairi has announced the rules and regulations for accepting and using donations in public institutions like the Ministry of Education, reports Al- Anba daily.

The daily obtained a copy of Al-Mutairi’s letter to the Ministry of Education undersecretary concerning the Ministry of Finance’s circular on the rules and regulations for accepting and using donations in government agencies.

The important points are

1. Donations and cash grants are accepted through certified check or automatic payment. Any other means are not accepted.
2. Approval of the Ministry of Finance must be obtained after the initial approval of the Minister of Education or his authorized representative to receive donations and the like after completing the data and documents stated in the circular.
3. The donation should not be conditional in favor of the donor or others, and that there are no direct or indirect interests or benefits for the donor, or a preferential grant, benefits, priority, or benefit from the services provided by the Ministry of Education.
4. The donation does not include any financial or in-kind benefits for employees of the Ministry of Education.
5. It is prohibited to request any cash or in-kind donations or contributions to finance projects or for any other purpose from contractors, private companies, individuals or others. This excludes public calls of entities for citizens to donate by the powers granted to them by the law.
6. The type of donation, methods of benefiting from it and the party responsible for implementation shall be determined through an agreement between the donor and the Ministry of Education after completing the information requesting a donation using the attached form nos. 1 and 2.
7. The donation is directed for the purpose for which it was allocated, and the ministry has the right to direct the donation for another purpose in the interest of the public with the approval of the donor, his representative or heirs, in addition to the approval of the Ministry of Finance.
If there is a surplus, the Ministry of Finance has the right to disburse the surplus without consulting the donor or his heirs.
8. The donor should not manage or operate the project for which his donation is used.
9. The cash and in-kind donations and gifts received must be disclosed and statistical records must be allocated for them. Form nos. 3 and 4 attached to the circular must be completed. Copies of the forms must be submitted to the Storage Affairs and Procurement Systems Sector in the Ministry of Finance at the end of each fiscal year, in addition to the Financial Affairs Sector to be included in the ministry’s budget and final account in line with the principles of governance and transparency.
10. All sectors of the ministry must include the amounts of repeated and confirmed donations in the annual draft budget, which should be forwarded to the Budget and Costs Department in the Financial Affairs Sector to be included in the ministry’s overall draft budget.