To improve government expenditure management
The Ministry of Finance and the National Office of the European Development Fund signed an agreement with the European Union and the World Bank to create a Trust Fund
aiming to develop a program to support the Government of the Dominican Republic in their efforts to improve public expenditure management.
The agreement was signed by the Minister of Finance, Daniel Toribio, the National Office of the European Development Fund, Domingo Jimenez, Ambassador Irene Horejs, Head of the Delegation of the European Union and the World Bank Representative, Roby Senderowitsch.
The Trust Fund for Public Expenditure Management fully funded by the European Union is endowed with one million Euros and will be administered by the World Bank which in turn will be the entity responsible for implementing the program of activities in coordination with the Ministries of Finance and Economy.
This program represents another step towards greater alignment and harmonization of our cooperation in this country, right in the heart of the management of Dominican public finances
, said Ambassador Irene Horejs, Head of the European Union Dominican Delegation.
The program will contribute to the reform process of public finances in the Dominican Republic, through three key components identified by the last report of Public Expenditure and Finances Accountability 2010 (PEFA), namely: Multi-annual budgeting; Implementation of the Treasury Single Account and Improved procurement.
The project will be developed over a period of three years (2012-2014) and implementing units will be, at the Ministry of Finance, the Integrated Financial Management Program and at the Ministry of Economy, the Directorate General for Economic and Social Development.
The Component One of the project aims at the planning and implementation of the multi-annual budget based on performance indicators, allowing adapting spending and taxing forecasts in the medium term to forecasts of economic growth, aligning the budget with the milestones of the National Development Strategy, and the implementation of a monitoring and evaluation system. In turn, Component Two aims to the design and implementation of the Single Treasury Account in order to finalize the inventory of all government accounts, to adapt to the legal framework and processes, and to launch an implementation pilot in selected institutions.
Finally, the procurement Third Component will focus on expanding the transparency, so that it complies with the disclosure requirements and regulation of the recruitment process and the implementation of key activities of the strategic plan of recruitment.
These specific actions are part of a clear policy by the European Union in the Dominican Republic for improving public financial management, through its general budget support programs to combat poverty and improve the education sector and competitiveness, for the reform the Chamber of Auditors and Public Administration and other actions in the area of public financial management, for which European Union works side by side with the ministries involved, and also with local institutions and Dominican civil society organizations.
The World Bank for its part also supports the Dominican Republic to improve the quality of public expenditure and institutional development through a set of technical assistance to the Auditors Chamber, the Chamber of Deputies, and the Ministries of Finance, Economy and Public Administration, and a wide range of Dominican civil society institutions.
For the World Bank the support from the European Union is very important. The implementation of the activities included in the Trust Fund in addition to those who the World Bank was already doing will help further the agenda of transparency and good governance
, said the World Bank Representative in the country, Roby Senderowitsch.
