Govt. initiates process to undertake crucial Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Assessment

Aug 13, 2018 News

The coalition administration has begun the process for undertaking the next Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Assessment, which is regarded as the hallmark for assessing public financial management (PFM). While the existing PEFA Action Plan continues to be implemented, the next assessment will be conducted in 2019 and will feed into the development of a new PEFA Action Plan.
According to the Ministry of Finance, while public investments are captured in the PEFA Assessment, the more specific Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA), which was completed in 2017, serves as the backbone for systemic reforms to the way Government undertakes capital investments.
Having successfully developed a draft PIMA Action Plan that seeks to address the areas of deficiency within the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), preliminary work on overhauling public investment management has begun.
For Budget 2019, the Government has instituted a pre-appraisal mechanism that allows for proposed new investments to be screened for vital markers such as readiness, strategic alignment, articulation of intended outcomes and impacts and adequate justifications. The intention is to ensure that Budget Agencies are undertaking the required conceptual processes when developing future interventions, so that investments, going forward, are well thought-out. This would reduce implementation delays and maximise value for money and social outcomes for Guyanese.
Another key area, where significant work is ongoing, is procurement. According to the Finance Ministry, the terms of reference for training on procurement planning has been completed and training is anticipated to commence, in the second half of 2018. The Ministry said that the National Procurement and Tender Administration will partner with the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) to strengthen the regulatory framework for procurement. The drafting of recommendations, stemming from this exercise, is expected to be completed by end 2018, and will include a requirement that all suppliers must be registered on the suppliers‟ register. Further, draft debarment procedures have been submitted to the PPC for review and operationalization. Also, the Ministry revealed that the central list of evaluators will continue to undergo upgrading. All of these initiatives will serve to improve the efficiency of public procurement and reinforce the concept of value for money.
In an effort to improve the supporting foundation for government operations, the Government has said that it continues to engage technical expertise to guide the formulation of a roadmap for the implementation of the Treasury Single Account, as well as the adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards and the review of the government chart of accounts. In concert, work on the National Payments System, such as procurement of key components, including the ICT infrastructure, will be advanced.
To support PFM reform, the Finance Ministry said that an IFMIS (Integrated Financial Management Information System) Committee has been set up and tasked with oversight and leadership of the process. The Committee is attempting to coordinate the ICT solutions necessary to move Government PFM operations into 21st century PFM/IFMIS best practices. In addition, to reinforce a results-based management framework into the process, the Ministry said that annual training in key concepts of monitoring and evaluation will take place, in the second half of 2018, for Budget Agencies.