Fighting Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Posted by Racheeda Boukezia^[1]

In the footsteps of the successful first anti-corruption training course delivered in November 2020, FAD offered a second edition of its “Fighting Corruption in Sub Saharan Africa” course from March 2-28^th 2022.

Since 2018 the IMF has placed greater emphasis on governance and corruption issues both in policy dialogue and in financial program design with increased support to member countries to strengthen their capacities. The IMF’s 2019 Fiscal Monitor stressed the importance of building strong fiscal institutions to address corruption. With a myriad of opportunities for funds to leak in the public sector, understanding the vulnerabilities in the fiscal environment is crucial to design proper reforms and reduce the fiscal impact of mismanagement.

Rethinking Public Financial Management

Posted by Gary Bandy, Mark Johnson, Tia Raappana, and Srinivas Gurazada^[1]

 

What do governments need to be effective in a crisis? Among many other things, they need to be good at risk management, at securing the necessary resources and spending them where they matter the most, as quickly and effectively as possible, whilst balancing many policy priorities and demands. To do all this, a government needs good PFM systems. Often, governments with weak PFM systems will find those weaknesses exposed and magnified during times of crisis or extreme fiscal pressure.

Over the past two decades, the focus of many countries has been to build robust, efficient, and accountable PFM systems. The Global Report on Public Financial Management by the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) program^[2] highlights that whilst PFM systems have seen improvements, significant weaknesses remain. Countries, on average, perform better preparing their budgets than getting them implemented.

Budgetary Practices of the Spanish Regional Governments

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Posted by Jordi Baños, Daniel Montolio and Clara Picanyol^[1]

Spain is considered a highly decentralized country, where Regional Governments (called “Autonomous Communities”) manage around 31% of total public sector expenditure (Euro 224 billion in 2021 (19% of GDP)), providing healthcare, education, long-term care, and social services, among other services. The debt levels of Regional Governments have increased, especially after the 2008/09 global financial crisis, reaching 25.9% of GDP in 2021.

Building Capacity on Managing Fiscal Risks

Image provided by IMF Capacity Development/ LinkedIn

 

Article originally posted on IMF Capacity Development | LinkedIn - Building Capacity on Managing Fiscal Risks (linkedin.com)

Posted by Lesley Fisher and Amanda Sayegh^[1]

 

Our world today has been beset by crises we could not have anticipated 3 years ago: a global pandemic, large-scale supply chain disruptions, and a war in Ukraine. These crises have had, and still are having, devastating impacts, causing loss of life and economic upheaval. 

They have also impacted on public finances, as governments have taken steps to shield their citizens and economies from the worst effects. These challenges are taking place against a backdrop of high debt, limited fiscal space, and elevated uncertainty. 

We cannot predict what events may develop next year, or the year after. But policymakers can structure public finances with resilience in mind.  

What can governments do to better understand, manage, and prepare for fiscal risks?

Drivers of Nepal’s New PFM System for Local Governments

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Posted by Sarita Sapkota^[1]

Nepal is gearing up for a new round of local elections on 13 May 2022 - the second round since the promulgation of the new constitution in 2015 that established a federal structure with 753 local governments and seven provinces. Functions, responsibilities and resources for service delivery were transferred to the provincial and local governments as part of the new federal system. A PFM blog from October 2016 highlighted a need for a “substantial reengineering of the public financial management system at local level” given the change. 

Heading into the second local elections, the country has come quite far in setting up those systems. This includes passing necessary financial management legislation, hiring staff, supplying training, setting up IT systems, and more. The adoption of a local government financial management software, SuTRA, is one such noticeable example. By Nepali fiscal year 2020/21, all 753 local governments had used SuTRA for at least a few core functions – revenue projection, budget preparation, budget approval, consolidated fund accounting, and expenditure accounting.

Treasury Management during the Covid-19 Pandemic in the CAPDR Region

 

Posted by Martha Cubillo^[1]

In July 2021, the IMF’s Technical Assistance Center for Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic (CAPTAC-DR) conducted a webinar on modernizing treasury management in the region. A full report of this event was published on CAPTAC-DR’s website [Gestion de Tesoreria 1.pdf (captac-dr.org)]. Senior officials from the seven countries of the region participated in the webinar. The participants shared their countries’ experiences in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and identified the challenges in modernizing their systems in line with good international practices.

Traditionally, the role of a public treasury is limited to the execution of payments and the management of liquidity. However, its modern form encompasses other objectives such as the automatization of financial systems, the minimization of financial costs, the profitability of liquid balances, coordination with monetary policy, and the development of the financial markets.

Sharpening PFM Tools for Expenditure Reprioritization in Sub-Saharan Africa

 

Posted by Richard Allen, Martin Johnson, Willie Du Preez, Robert Clifton^[1]

 

Between March 28 and April 1, 2022, more than 40 participants from 11 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries^[2] took part in a virtual seminar on Institutions, Tools and Practices for Expenditure Reprioritization for Recovery. The seminar was organized and hosted by the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI) and the IMF’s Regional Technical Assistance Center for Southern Africa (AFRITAC South).

The seminar combined presentations on key PFM prioritization tools and methodologies with case studies of gender budgeting in Zimbabwe and accessible spending review techniques in South Africa (known as ‘pocket problems’). It also presented tools such as the PIMA Climate Change Module designed to help countries adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change, and to improve their management of capital infrastructure. During lively group work sessions, participants shared experiences of developing and using PFM prioritisation techniques, tools, and processes.

Why Governments Should Have Transparent Cash Management Policies

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Posted by Emre Balibek and Yasemin Hurcan^[1],[2]

 

Governments, central banks and financial markets benefit from transparent government cash management. Unfortunately, many governments publish very limited information about their cash balances and their cash management framework or policy. The benefits of fiscal transparency are often cited as providing legislatures, markets, and citizens with the information they need to hold governments accountable, hence promoting better fiscal management. Existing fiscal transparency frameworks often refer to budget documents, medium-term fiscal plans, financial statements, and other fiscal reports, but seldom to the government’s cash management plans.

French-Speaking Public Financial Management Resident Advisor for AFRITAC West (based in Abidjan – Côte d’Ivoire)

• Work for the IMF. Work for the World.

 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is seeking an experienced public financial management (PFM) expert for the West Africa Regional Capacity Development Center (AFRITAC West) based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

AFRITAC West is a multi-donor financed regional center of the IMF, with headquarters in Abidjan, providing capacity development (CD) in economic and financial management to the eight members of the West Africa Economic and Monetary Community (WAEMU) (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo), Guinea, and Mauritania. It also supports the Commission of the WAEMU in the area of PFM.

Regional PFM Advisor, the IMF’s Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Center (CARTAC)

Regional PFM Advisor, the IMF’s Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Center (CARTAC) 

• Work for the IMF. Work for the World.

 

The Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund is seeking an experienced public financial management (PFM) expert for a position in the Caribbean. The position is based at the IMF’s Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Center (CARTAC), in Barbados, covering 23 Caribbean countries. The advisor will contribute to capacity development (including the coordination and delivery of technical assistance (TA) and training) to the respective ministries of finance and related institutions. She/he will primarily support PFM institutional capacity development in these countries.

Specifically, the successful candidate should have experience of designing and implementing PFM reforms at the national level in one or more of the subject areas mentioned below: