The Accra High Level Forum – a PEFA Perspective

Posted by Frans E. Ronsholt, Head of the PEFA Secretariat

In the 2005 Paris Declaration, partner countries committed to strengthening their national PFM systems while donors committed, to support partner countries’ efforts to enhance the capacity of such systems, and both parties committed to jointly implement harmonized diagnostic reviews and performance assessment frameworks in PFM. In other words, the Paris Declaration confirmed donors’ and partner countries’ commitment to the three main principles of the Strengthened Approach to Supporting PFM Reform, which constitutes the foundation for the PEFA Program. Donors also committed to using country systems to the extent possible and avoid parallel structures.

The PFM Performance Measurement Framework (PEFA Framework) provides a foundation from which to build reform programs to strengthen a country’s PFM system and to monitor progress towards reform targets. As the PFM system is strengthened, it will create an enabling environment for donors to increasingly use national PFM systems. The PEFA Framework also contributes to the Paris Declaration targets of reduced transaction costs in diagnostic work through harmonized analytical instruments and joint missions.

The Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, which took place in Accra September 2nd-4th, took stock of progress towards the 2010 targets set in the Paris Declaration. In preparation for this discussion, the OEDC-DAC Joint Venture on Public Financial Management – with which the PEFA Program works very closely - prepared a Report on the Use of Country Systems in PFM Download report_on_use_of_country_systems_in_pfm.pdf to take stock on progress to date and provide recommendations to stimulate discussion. The PEFA Framework features strongly in this report, which recommends – amongst others - that multi-year plans for PFM analytical work be developed at country level with the PEFA Framework as the core assessment and monitoring tool. The report was submitted to the OECD DAC Working Party on Aid Effectiveness as an input to formulation and negotiation of an action agenda to enhance implementation of the Paris Declaration.

In addition to PEFA’s input to this report, the Program was invited to participate in the Marketplace of Ideas at the High Level Forum. Our poster demonstrated - amongst others - how the PEFA Framework has been able to measure progress in PFM performance in Mozambique, the first case of a comprehensive and published report which tracked PFM systems performance progress over time.

The Accra Action Agenda (AAA), as negotiated and finalized in Accra on September 4th, adds to and strengthens the language used in the Paris Declaration in a number of areas.

As regards performance measurement of PFM systems, the AAA is - if anything – less specific than the Paris Declaration, since the AAA lumps together reference to assessment of the quality of all types of country systems, whereas the Paris Declaration has a reference dedicated to assessment, strengthening and use of PFM system. The same is the case for procurement systems.