384 Key institutions involved in expenditure oversight functions are: • The Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee (at both federal and regional state levels), which focuses on preliminary estimates in macroeconomic plans and programmes, examines the budget and compiles amendments thereto. The Budget and Finance Committee is further divided into three sub-committees under its mandate: Public Accounts; Revenue; and Recurrent and Capital Budget SubCommittees; and, • Deployment of internal Auditors to all ministries and government agencies as well as the MoFED Inspection Department. This department undertakes a role more akin to the traditional Internal Audit function; it covers all federal ministries and also monitors some federal funds, particularly capital at the regional level. The Inspection Department has an audit plan and a rolling program of inspections. 385 In addition, there are 12 Parliamentary Standing Committees that oversee and supervise the financial operations of various ministries, departments and agencies. Different committees are assigned to different institutions depending on the relationship between the ministries and the standing committees. Moreover, it should be noted that the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee is chaired by a member of the opposition party. Ultimately, the Office of the Federal Auditor General (OFAG) audits all public expenditures and submits annual reports to the House of People’s Representatives (HoPR). However, there are some concerns regarding whether Parliament has the capacity to effectively perform its oversight function. Budget Deficit Management 386 The CRM is concerned that weak capacity to generate domestic revenue in Ethiopia has led to persistent budget deficits over the last ten years. Actual overall fiscal balances (excluding grants) for the years 2002/03 to 2007/08 in ETB billion were -9.37, -6.60, -9.22, -9.83, -13.81, -17.12, respectively. The deficit as a proportion of GDP at constant prices also progressively declined from 12.8 percent in 2002/03 to 9.97 percent in 2007/08. Given on-going government efforts at tax reforms in order to mobilise increased domestic revenue, all indications point to declining fiscal deficits in the longer term. 387 The major sources of government revenue in Ethiopia are domestic tax revenue, non-tax revenue, and external donor grants. The domestic revenue component constitutes an estimated 80 percent of financial resources, projected as ETB 35.7 billion, 40.5 billion, and 46.8 billion for 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10, - 160 -