What is the difference between a parastatal and Extra-Ministerial Department?

Answer 1

A Parastatal is a statutory body or corporation that is wholly owned or controlled by national or municipal government which chain of command passes through a cabinet member of the Executive Council of that government like a Minister, Commissioner, or Councillor. An extra-ministerial department, on the other hand, is a unit of government which function is independent of any ministerial oversight. In some cases, an extra-ministerial body performs a function that overlaps many ministries . For instance, the office of the Auditor-General and Accountant General which is sometimes not put under the Ministry of Finance. In some other cases, their function may relate directly to certain aspects of the functions of the President that he or she wants to delegate to an identifiable structure answerable to him directly without exposure to such checks and balances like congressional or parliamentary oversight. For instance, in some countries, the office of the Chief of Staff to the President and the Secretary to the Government Federation are extra-ministerial bodies which head take part in cabinet meetings, manage budgets but are only answerable to the President, not Congress or Parliament.