Bhutan Leverages PEFA to Leap Forward with its PFM Reforms

Posted by Sonam Tobgyel^[1]

Bhutan has a very strong commitment to Good Governance which is one of the four pillars of the country’s Gross National Happiness (GNH) Index and one of the nine domains of the same index. Improving governance and accountability is one of the main priorities of the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB) and strengthening PFM is a key element of good governance. To improve PFM, the RGoB has used the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Assessment tool, which involves evidence-based measurements of a country’s PFM system to provide a scorecard of performance against various indicators and prepare a well-sequenced reform strategy. Bhutan had undertaken various reforms even before the first PEFA Assessment was carried out. However, it was only after the PEFA Assessments of 2010 and 2016 that the country was able to leap forward with a more structured and sequenced reform strategy which has already had a marked impact on the country’s fiscal performance.

Sub-Saharan Africa Course on Gender Budgeting

Posted by Virginia Alonso Albarran, Laura Gores, Monique Newiak, and Vincent Tang^[1]

The IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) and African Department (AFR), in collaboration with the Africa Training Institute (ATI) organized a five-day remote course on Gender Budgeting for 65 government officials across 25 countries from Sub-Saharan Africa in January 2021.^[2]

Australia’s New Online Transparency Portal

Posted by Gemma Preston^[1]

A new online platform known as transparency.gov.au has greatly improved access to government data in Australia. The tool, developed by the Australian Department of Finance, aims to provides a one-stop-shop for planning and performance information for all Australian government entities at the central level, including public financial and non-financial corporations. The Portal, which has been piloted since 2017-18, aims to become the single definitive source of corporate information, providing easy access to the Parliament and the public.

Using Data Analytics to Enhance Cash Management

Posted by Guillermo Tello ^[1]

Financial management information systems (FMIS) put increasingly vast amounts of financial information at the fingertips of members of state treasuries, enabling them to analyze budget execution trends and to track the accuracy of cash flow projections.

Reforming Budget Execution and Cash Management in the Middle East and North Africa

Posted by Jacques Charaoui and Merle Wilkinson^[1]

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region face decreasing revenues and increasing expenditure. Some governments are also experiencing constrained access to financial markets as well as challenges in raising cash to finance crisis-related emergency spending. All these factors put pressure on governments’ treasury and cash management operations. They necessitate a multipronged approach to cash management that provides enough liquidity to satisfy the government’s payment obligations while maintaining adequate cash balances at all times.

Leveraging Public Budgets for the Sustainable Development Goals: The Case of Mexico

Posted by Lorena Rivero del Paso^[1]

The 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was adopted more than five years ago, leaving less than ten years to achieve these goals. This was already demanding before the pandemic, now with the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, it is even more challenging. There is a need for governments to step up and speed up implementation and to leverage all the instruments at their disposal to achieve their targets. Public budgets—while not the only tool for financing the SDGs—have a primary role in directing priorities from an economic, political and legal standpoint. Therefore, budgeting for SDGs, is one of the most important tools that governments can use.

How Civil Society can Make Tax Systems More Equitable

Photo: Invest in Minnesota/Minnesota Budget Project
Posted by Paolo de Renzio, Jason Lakin and Fariya Mohiuddin^[1]

Domestic revenue mobilization (DRM) is fundamental to governments’ strategies to finance essential development goals. Yet, if taxation is not equitable, intensifying domestic revenue collection can undermine efforts to tackle poverty and inequality. Without a strong grass-roots voice in tax, progressive tax reform may falter.  Civic actors are critical stakeholders in building broad support for social bargains in which governments supply citizens with quality services in exchange for tax compliance.  The same actors can also provide muscle to help take on powerful interests that oppose redistributive tax policy.

Modernizing Cash Management in Mali

Posted by Leonard Kobou Djongue, Serge Ramangalahy and Claude Wendling^[1]

Implementing a Treasury Single Account (TSA) is a major instrument for the modernization of cash management. The centralization of public funds in a single process indeed aims at enabling the State to fulfil its financial commitments at every moment and at the lowest possible cost. In this respect, avoiding scattered public resources and pockets of “idle liquidity” should be high priorities for the Ministry of Finance.

La modernisation de la gestion de la trésorerie au Mali

Préparé par Léonard Kobou Djongue, Serge Ramangalahy et Claude Wendling^[1]

La mise en œuvre du Compte unique du Trésor (CUT) constitue un enjeu majeur dans la modernisation de la gestion de la trésorerie de l’Etat. En effet, la centralisation des fonds publics vise à permettre à l’Etat de faire face, à tout instant, à ses engagements, et ce, au moindre cout. A ce titre, la lutte contre l’éparpillement des ressources publiques et contre la constitution de poches de « liquidités oisives » sont des priorités de premier rang pour le ministère de l’Economie et des Finances (MEF).

Improving Fiscal Transparency in Francophone Africa

    

Posted by Bruno Imbert,^[1] Serge Ramangalahy,^[2] Claire Schouten^[3] and Alex Kreko.^[4]

Fiscal transparency is always important as an aid to fiscal policy and good budgeting but has becomes critical during the COVID-19 pandemic because of high levels of public spending and debt, to avoid misuse of scarce public funds, and to enhance accountability.