Mauritius PEFA update

Mauritius appears to have done an update of its PEFA;

Mauritius continues to perform well against the PEFA benchmarks. The scores show progress compared to the 2007 PEFA assessment, with 27 out of the 31 reported ratings higher or equal to those obtained in 2007...

Comprehensiveness and transparency have improved since the last PEFA
assessment. The budget classification system adopted for the 2008-09 budget, which incorporates a program budget approach for the first time, is based on the IMF Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM) 2001. Budget documentation is relatively comprehensive, meeting seven out of nine of the required benchmarks. However, the analysis and discussion of macro-fiscal projections and fiscal outputs are limited, and transactions between the central government and extra-budgetary units are not fully reported

The monitoring of fiscal risks has been progressively strengthened over the
reporting period, though gaps still remain. Monitoring and reporting of fiscal risks is not always systematic and coverage remains incomplete―financial institutions and extra-budgetary units are not monitored. Budget integrity is in general sound, with some remaining issues in the monitoring and publication of contract awards and the tracking of flows of funds to primary service delivery units.

A clear annual budget calendar exists and is largely adhered to. The budget
circular provides the guidance necessary for line ministries to prepare a complete and detailed budget submission. However, strategic planning capacity in government remains limited and the links between macroeconomic projections, fiscal strategy, ministry-level strategic plans, and the budget process require strengthening. In particular, insufficient time is available at the early stages of the budget process for discussions between line ministries and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) to determine strategic priorities within the fiscal framework. This is particularly apparent on the capital side of the budget, where significant capacity constraints result in substantial underspending.

Timor-Leste, PFM consultants heaven!

Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste: Public Financial Management-Performance Report
Timor-Leste: Report on Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC)-Fiscal Transparency Module

Highlights from the ROSC;

There is no clear and simple citizen’s guide to the budget.

 Short term recommendations;

• Initiate identification and costing of new government initiatives in the budget, both on the expenditure and revenue side, and identify recurring costs of public investment for the medium term. (2.1.3 paragraph 40)
• Require donors to provide estimates of planned expenditure volumes on a multiyear basis (but not on individual projects), and include these in the multiyear fiscal presentation and the expenditure projections in the budget. (2.1.5 paragraph 47)
• Start building capacity in costing and analytic review of capital projects and program expenditure. (2.1.1 paragraph 34)
• Include in the budget documents analysis of revenue and expenditure outturns compared to plan, for the three prior years to the budget year. (3.1.2 paragraph 63)
• Publish a clear and simple summary guide to the budget in Tetum and Portuguese to inform the population. (3.2.1 paragraph 72)
• Specify in the financial regulations the process and conditions for the access to contingency reserve funds to prevent use for other purposes. (2.2.3 paragraph 55)

 Medium Term Recommendations;

-Strengthen capacity in basic macrofiscal forecasting and use of the financial programming model. Document the macroeconomic framework. Basic macroeconomic assumptions underlying the budget estimates should be published at an early stage of the budget cycle and clearly presented in the budget documents. Extend the macrofiscal framework towards the medium term by estimating the main revenue and expenditure flows over the medium term; develop of a medium-term fiscal framework. (2.1.2 paragraphs 36 and 37)
-Develop a medium-term PIP with clear principles for the evaluation, prioritization, and approval of investment projects. Capacity building and/or buying in cost-benefit analysis in the context of multiyear investment projects is essential. (2.1.1 paragraph
34)
- Include in the timeline for budget preparation an extended period for line ministries to prepare and for the MOF to analyze and discuss the rationale and costing of the budget. For the latter, additional review capacity in MOF is needed to verify costing and challenge the recurrent and capital project budget submissions requests and correspondent links. (2.1.1 paragraph 35)
-Review and further develop the program classification of expenditure and better link it to line ministry policies; use it initially for budget planning and presentational purposes; extend the functional classification to include subfunctions and items.(3.2.2 paragraph 73)
-Strengthen the strategic planning capacity in the prime minister’s office, MOF, and line ministries, and establish clear links to the AAPs and line ministries’ budgets and
include in budget documents additional analysis on government priorities, programs, and targets. (3.2.4 paragraph 74)
-Cost existing policies and clearly separate them from new policies in the preparation of budget and forward estimates. This would enable the presentation of “baseline” expenditures at the start of the budget process. (2.1.3 paragraph 39)
-Develop a more robust methodology to expand production of baseline and budget estimates over the medium term.
-Decide on line ministry expenditure ceilings in the COM at the start of the budget cycle on the basis of baseline estimates, new expenditure initiatives and possible savings targets. These ceilings should be provided to line ministries in the budget circular, and cover both recurrent and capital expenditure
-Develop presentations in the budget in the following areas: fiscal risks, quasi-fiscal activities (including by petroleum companies), and contingent liabilities. (3.1.3 paragraph 66);
-Develop an overview of existing and new tax expenditures in the budget. (1.2.1 paragraph 22)
-The MOF should develop or commission occasional reports on long term expenditure and revenue trends. Such analyses would provide a good framework to address structural issues like population growth and the costs associated with this, or the limitations of natural resources. This would be particularly important in the preparation of the Vision 2020 plan update. (3.2.4 paragraph 74)

If New York State did a PEFA how would be its rating?

The payroll indicator would certainly be a 'D';

As Gov. David A. Paterson calls lawmakers back to work on the budget this week, he has announced that the fiscal situation is so serious that he must begin laying off state workers. But there is one wrinkle, as officials try to pare government spending: No one knows for sure how big the state work force actually is.

That is because the state has not one but two public payrolls.

One is controlled by the governor, encompassing about 131,000 employees, who toil for agencies like the Health Department, the parks department and the Department of Motor Vehicles. That payroll has shrunk by about 25 percent in the last two decades — so has the much smaller legislative payroll — and usually shoulders the brunt of layoffs.

The other lies beyond the direct control of the governor and includes perhaps 163,000 more workers employed by independent public authorities and agencies — though that number is an estimate, because not all authorities have been reporting their payrolls to a central state registry. And projections of state employment by the federal government do not always match the state government’s figures. The work force beyond the governor’s control has largely bucked the statewide retrenchment, according to a review compiled by The New York Times...

Legislation last year forced them for the first time to turn over their employment data to a central registry. But that represents only current staffing, making it difficult to determine whether the authorities have been shrinking or expanding over time.

PFM in MENA- what's the value for money of 407 billion dollars

A new report from the World Bank "Public Financial Management Reform in the Middle East and North Africa: An Overview of Regional Experience" surveys the experience of the region on the topic of public financial management reform.

According to the most recent World Bank data, governments throughout the MENA region spent approximately $407 billion dollars in 2007 in delivering their policy, regulatory and service functions.

Related:
Executive Summary
Country Cases

PFM Efficiency gains in Egypt

one percent efficiency gain in Egypt’s budget for 2009 would yield $637 million dollars, enough resources to build 40,000 schools, pave 4,500 kilometers of highway, or recruit an additional 600,000 doctors.

- "Public Financial Management Reform in the Middle East and North Africa: An Overview of Regional Experience"

Special Announcement

Some updates:

Division of Labor among our blogs

Have also added a new list of PFM blogs.

India's got a PEFA

India Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability : Public Financial Management Performance Assessment Report by Pratap Ranjan Jena With assistance from Satadru Sikdar