The development objective of Himachal Pradesh Public Financial Management Capacity Building Program Project for India is to improve the efficiency of Public Expenditure Management and Tax Administration in Himachal Pradesh.
... See More + This project has three components. 1) The first component, Improving efficiency of the Finance Department (FD) in an enhanced control environment, aims to contribute toward strengthening budget credibility; effective Public Financial Management (PFM) operations; and enhancing governance, financial controls, and accountability by strengthening treasury systems and establishing or upgrading enabling IT systems. It has two subcomponents as follows: (i) Strengthening treasury functioning and implementing second generation Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) reforms; (ii) Strengthening PFM Reforms Architecture; and (iii) Establishing or strengthening enabling IT systems and support. 2) The second component, Increasing efficiency and performance through better contract management, aims to strengthen contract management in one of the major works departments, namely the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department. It has the following two subcomponents: (i) Establishing an integrated CMS; and (ii) Rollout of e-Procurement in all government departments. 3) The third component, Unlocking revenue potential through modernization of the Excise and Taxation Department (ETD), aims to support activities that will increase efficiency in operations within the ETD, including upgrading skills and competency levels for improved staff capacity and enhanced systems, both with the objective of augmentation and increasing revenue. It has the following five subcomponents: (i) Diagnostic of the institutional framework and revenue administration; (ii) Strengthening analytical skills and business intelligence (BI) capabilities; (iii) e-Governance in the excise function; (iv) Independent third-party IT audit; and (v) Hiring of personnel for addressing backlog of Value Added Tax (VAT) and Central Sales Tax (CST) assessments.
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The development objective of the Integrated Public Sector Reform Project for Congo, Republic of is to improve public resources management and accountability in the Republic of Congo.
... See More + The project comprises of four components. The first component, strengthening revenue mobilization and public expenditure management objective is twofold: (a) to improve non-oil revenue collection, and (b) to rationalize the expenditure chain. It consists of following sub-components: (i) strengthening revenue mobilization; and (ii) strengthening public expenditure management. The second component, modernization of the public administration objective is to develop a public sector modernization strategy and implement it in pilot departments and agencies. It consists of following sub-components: (i) improving civil service management capacity; (ii) modernization of the departments implementing reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+); and (iii) modernization of the public procurement system. The third component, improving transparency and accountability objectives are to strengthen the capacity of the oversight institutions, increase transparency in the forestry and extractive sectors, and promote citizen engagement. It consists of following sub-components: (i) supporting the Cour de Comptes et Discipline Budgétaire (CCDB), general inspection of finance (IGF), and economy and finance committees of the parliament; (ii) supporting social accountability and citizen engagement; (iii) improving transparency of the revenue collection system in the forestry sector; and (iv) improving transparency in the extractives sector. The fourth component, project implementation support objectives are to enhance the project implementation capacity and to support the development and application of a monitoring and evaluation (M and E) system for tracking progress in governance reforms. It consists of following sub-components: (i) building project implementation capacity; and (ii) and M and E.
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Most business leaders in Malawi see the Malawi Trade Portal (MTP) as a step forward in the provision of public information via online platforms and the promotion of transparency in the delivery of public services.
... See More + Its purpose is to facilitate trade by promoting easier access to information on laws, regulations, measures, standards, procedures, and forms related tothe governance of exports, imports, and transit of goods. This SmartLesson describes how the MTP is helping authorities facilitate trade by increasing transparency and accountability and by reducing the time it takes to access regulatory information on trade across borders. and it shares the lessons the authors believe are the most replicable.
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This paper uses some of the main elements of the World Development Report 2017 framework to analyze how the initiative came to be. First, it looks to investigate the origin of the constitutional changes that gave birth to the figure of citizen’s bill in the first place, illustrating how a change in rules, a “form”, eventually led to an increased space of contestability.
... See More + It also looks to document how the coalition between civil society organizations, academia, the private sector and citizens came together around this rallying point, and how the bill grew from online platform to a full-on legislative proposal. Afterwards, it provides a brief analysis of the elements of the bill that were ultimately incorporated into the legislation of the national anticorruption system. In parallel, it looks to shed light on questions, such as, did political parties attempt to block a constitutional change with the potential to affect their interests? What role did elite organizations play in the civil society coalition? How much of the coalition’s bill made it into the national anticorruption legislation? What are the mechanisms through which these laws purpose to fight corruption? The methodological approach followed in the paper consisted of in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and a detailed review of publicly available information. The rest of the paper is structured as follows. Section two, next, discusses some of the elements of WDR 2017, which are used to frame the analysis. It then sets up the context leading up to the initiative, notably the legislative changes that allowed the figure of citizen’s bill to come to the fore. Section three looks at the path of the 3de3 citizen’s bill: its evolution from online platform, through massive crowdsourcing to full-blown national anticorruption bill. It also explores some of the most distinctive elements that the bill proposes to fight corruption. Section four provides an analysis of the incentives behind how the coalition around the initiate was built, and the unlikely alliance of actors involved—citizens, business associations, civil society organizations, academia, and legislators themselves. Section five concludes with a discussion of the entry points that led to the development of the bill—and its incorporation into the national legislation on corruption—in terms of shifts in incentives, preferences and contestability.
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In a conflict-affected and newly independent country like South Sudan, rebuilding public sector capacity is an important aspect of state building, both in the short and in the medium to long term.
... See More + If capacity strengthening is not pursued or is ineffective, government functionality remains patchy and dependency on technical assistants (TA) remains high. Capacity strengthening has been considered amorphous and a difficult topic in academic literature. This paper looks at the experience of efforts to strengthen capacity in South Sudan over the decade from 2005 to 2016. The context has proved challenging for capacity-building efforts. On the one hand, some improvements have been seen and some skilled civil servants are in place. On the other hand, wider progress has been difficult and punctuated by crises and setbacks. Renewed conflicts from December 2013 to August 2015, and again since July 2016, have disrupted progress and planning for development support. The report’s recommendations are based on the assumption that minimum stability will eventually return for capacity strengthening to restart; but it cannot be predicted when this will be the case.
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Working Paper 114588 JAN 01, 2017
Fritz,Verena Maria; Issa,Museme Munira; Ort,Rachel Lemay; Haven,Bernard James; Collin Dit De Montesson,Nicolas Antoine Robert; Wani,Aisha Musa AliDisclosed
This report was developed in the first half of 2016, when the signing of the Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) and subsequent establishment of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU) presented a possible window of opportunity to restart and reset state-building effort, in particular, to initiate a more strategic approach to capacity building.
... See More + From the government side, it was possible incentives will emerge to signal a break with the past by delivering services to citizens. In this context, the main objective of the note has been to contribute a stronger evidence base for renewed efforts at supporting capacity building. Despite the renewed deterioration since mid-2016, it is expected that many of the key challenges and tensions analyzed will remain important considerations when capacity building efforts are eventually renewed. South Sudan has faced renewed conflict and a deepening macro-fiscal crisis. Shortly after the formation of the TGNU in late May 2016, fighting broke out in Juba and the security situation in the rest of the country has subsequently deteriorated. This note mainly covers the period until June 2016, as a contribution to providing a more nuanced understanding of efforts at capacity building in South Sudan. This note is primarily concerned with capacity in the civilian public service in South Sudan, and its ability to deliver public services. The note explores cross-cutting issues and challenges related to developing a capable and effective civil service and drills down into two specific areas: public financial management (PFM) and the public health sector. The report combines an analysis of the opportunities and constraints created by the evolving country context; cross-cutting factors which have shaped core public administration functions across sectors since 2005; and analysis of capacity in two selected state functions PFM and health care. The report is organized as follows: chapter one presents purpose, scope, and approach. Chapter two covers the conceptual underpinnings of the paper. Chapter three provides a cross-cutting perspective on capacity-building efforts in South Sudan, providing an overview of public sector as a tool for the management of political support, as well as the evolution of aid architecture. Chapter four covers PFM in South Sudan and chapter five addresses the health sector. Chapter six reviews key findings and emerging lessons and concludes with recommendations and options for improving monitoring of capacity-building efforts going forward.
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Public-Private Dialogues (PPDs) are known to convene policy makers, regulators, administrators and private sector participants to the same table and collaboratively address particularly stubborn issues relating to business-enabling reforms.
... See More + PPDs foster a culture of democratic problem-solving, drive awareness and consensus among participating stakeholders and aid the transcendence of reform impacts beyond the handful few. Ernest & Yong (EY) was appointed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which manages the PaCT Program, as an independent process evaluator of Component III. This report follows up on EY's baseline analysis, completed back in May 2014 and presents the findings from EY’s midline assessment. The midline analysis explores: (i) how the processes of Component III have evolved since the baseline study and how they are expected to evolve going forward; (ii) what are the present levels of perceptions and attitudes among different stakeholders on the issue of water management practices; and (iii) what have been the key observations around the dialogue process adopted by IFC for Component III and how it can be fortified to further the agenda under discussion. The midline assessment concludes that Component III has succeeded in establishing the necessary institutional architecture and processes to drive meaningful dialogues around sustainability-oriented policy reforms in Bangladesh.
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This quarterly review for Palestinian Recovery and Development Plan covers the period of October – December 2016. Despite strong revenues, a significant drop in budget support in 2016 resulted in extremely tight financing conditions and further arrears accumulation.
... See More + In 2016, public revenue increased by close to 25 percent mainly due to one-off transfers by the GoI and advance telecom license payments. Public expenditure growth was high reaching 5 percent mainly due to unanticipated wage increases. Despite a strong decline in the PA’s deficit year-on-year, fiscal stress continued to be high in 2016 due to a major drop in budget support. According to the 2017 budget, the financing need will remain large.
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The project covers seven cities, encompassing nine urban local bodies: seven municipal corporations (MCs) and two urban improvement trusts (UITs).
... See More + The urban local bodies are responsible for infrastructure improvements in the cities. The cities are spread across three states in central and northwestern India: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. They range in size from 260,000 (Alwar) to 2.6 million (Pune), with most in the range of 300,000 to 500,000 inhabitants. Institutionally, municipalities in India are under little regulatory obligation to improve lighting quality to meet standards. India’s Code of Practice for Lighting, created in 1970 by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to establish lighting standards for categories of streets and roads, and has not been updated since 1981. Further, as USAID report from 2010 notes, ‘since these guidelines are not enforced by any regulatory authority, it is common for municipalities to be unaware of the standards, and many fail to comply.’ Consequently, project upgrades are not driven by regulatory compliance but by municipalities’ initiative to save operating funds on electricity and maintenance, and to improve street lighting quality.
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This quarterly review for Palestinian Recovery and Development Plan covers for the period of July – September 2016. Public revenue grew by 22 percent in the first three quarters of 2016, mainly due to one-off transfers by the Government of Israel (GoI).
... See More + Public expenditure grew by close to 5 percent and exceeded the prorated budget by 6 percent in the period between January and September 2016. High expenditure growth was mainly driven by an increase in the wage bill, which constitutes about half of total expenditure. Progress in various areas of Public Financial Management (PFM) has been uneven.
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This introductory guide has been developed by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) with the support of the World Bank to explain to public sector leaders and their teams how integrated thinking and reporting can help the sector consider how make the most of resources, encourage the right behaviors and demonstrate to stakeholders how they are achieving the strategy and creating value over the short and longer term.
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The Palestinian Authority is committed to improving state-citizen relations through various mechanisms including the complaints resolution. The objective of this technical assistance, which has been undertaken at the request of the DGC, is to strengthen the Complaint Handling Mechanisms (CHMs) in five Palestinian ministries/government entities that are supported by World Bank-financed projects, as well as the DGC.
... See More + This summary report synthesizes key findings that have emerged throughout the technical assistance and formulates Ministry-specific recommendations. It forms the basis of a possible phase II of the project, which would support the implementation of recommendations. The report presents the innovative methodology used to bring together the demand- and supply-side perspectives on CHMs in targeted ministries; the key findings from the survey and the ministry-by-ministry assessments; the key suggestions for improvement; and finally the next steps. The technical assistance has generated high client interest among the concerned Ministries, the DGC and development partners.The technical assistance has generated high client interest among the concerned Ministries, the DGC and development partners. This summary report synthesizes key findings that have emerged throughout the technical assistance and formulates Ministry-specific recommendations. It forms the basis of a possible phase II of the project which would support the implementation of recommendations. The technical assistance also aligns with the focus on strengthening the citizen-state compact specified in the WBG Assistance Strategy FY15-16 for the West Bank and Gaza. The report is structured as follows: Part two presents the context; Part three presents the methodology used to bring together the demand- and supply-side perspectives on CHMs in targeted ministries; Part four presents the key findings from the survey and the ministry-by-ministry assessments; Part five presents the key suggestions for improvement; and finally Part six presents the next steps.
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Ethiopia’s remarkable socio-economic transformation over the last decade has been marked by: a reorientation of expenditure from recurrent to capital; a significant devolution of resources from Federal Government to Regions; and a clear prioritization of infrastructure spending, while protecting spending on education at four percent of GDP.
... See More + The Government of Ethiopia has also leveraged external resources to boost spending in pro-poor sectors, particularly health and social protection. As a result, Ethiopia is home to the largest social safety net program in Africa, and has also achieved remarkable health outcomes using cost effective approaches. Recent investments have seen a significant build-up of capital stock, with capital spending at sector level pointing towards increased service capacity. The current public investment-led strategy requires to be complemented by increased budgetary provisions in operations and maintenance so that new investments translate into enhanced service coverage and delivery. As Ethiopia lays the foundation to become a middle income country, and the changing global environment implies declining external assistance, it is imperative that domestic taxation activity support this transition. The current tax-to-GDP ratio is low compared to peer countries, and the tax structure would benefit from increased contributions by direct tax sources. Therefore, there is an immediate need for advancing tax reforms and improve capacity and quality of tax administration. Broadening the tax bases, through review of exemptions, as well as review of tax rates might be venues to consider. Additional revenues will create the much-needed fiscal space to increase funding for operations and maintenance for service delivery, and support fiscal sustainability. As a follow-up to this Public Expenditure Review, the Government of Ethiopia has asked the World Bank to provide further analytical support, with a view to enhance domestic revenue mobilization through simpler and more efficient taxation, while retaining equity priorities in public finances.
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The development objective of the Long Term Export Finance Project for Turkey is to improve access to longer term finance for export oriented small, medium, and large enterprises.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) participating financial institutions (PFIs) will be selected based on their expression of interest in participating in the project and on acceptance by Turk Eximbank of their credit risk, as well as the necessary eligibility criteria; (2) PFIs will be responsible for ensuring that sub-beneficiaries comply with the World Bank’s procurement procedures for the procurement of goods, works, non-consulting services, and consultant services under sub-finance, applicable Turkish environmental legislation and regulations, and the World Bank policy on environmental assessment; (3) PFIs will provide Turk Eximbank with a set of documentation for all sub-finance to enable it to maintain all project records and make them available for ex-post review by the World Bank or by external auditors as necessary; and (4) PFIs and the final beneficiaries of the credit line will be required to provide reasonable information for the purpose of monitoring and impact assessment during the life of the project (and for a certain period after the project), as may be requested by the World Bank and Turk Eximbank.
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The images of flattened buildings and tent cities that dominated the news following the Haitian earthquake of January 12, 2010 triggered an emergency response from the global aid and development community.
... See More + Foreign governments, multilateral organizations including the World Bank, and NGOs dramatically increased the flow of funding to the devastated country. The money helped pay for emergency relief but also for higher public investment spending that sought to repair damage and press ahead with development projects that had begun before the disaster. Six years later, the flow of aid is declining, and Haiti faces pivotal challenges: how to adapt to the reductions, raise more resources internally, spend more efficiently, and safeguard the fragile social gains it has achieved in a time of extreme hardship. The infrastructure Haiti has acquired in the recent surge of investment is something like a newly built house that lacks furniture and running water, it may look good from the outside but does little for its occupants. For the present, life remains a struggle for most of the country’s 10.4 million people. Thus in addition to growth, the country needs policies that will foster inclusiveness. Analysis and past experience suggest that two factors are key: human capital and political stability. To achieve this goal, Haiti will require a new outlook favoring fair, efficient government and social inclusiveness.
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This handbook is the product of a workshop held in June 2014 with about 25 environmental regulators from over 10 FCV-affected countries (Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Sudan) that was financed by the Korean Trust Fund (KTF) and organized and hosted by the World Bank Group (WBG).
... See More + Over the course of one week the participants went through a dense program consisting of presentations, discussions, participatory exercises, field trips and the preparation and presentation of case studies from their own countries. The materials processed and harvested during the workshop were extremely rich, and it seemed logical to capture them in a form that will be of continued practical use for the participants. This handbook is intended as a handy toolkit with practical tips that is borne out of experiences garnered from years of working in FCS, including post conflict situations. The structure of this handbook was conceived during extensive discussions towards the end of the workshop and seen as a ‘road map’ towards the best chance for environmental regulators to make a difference in practice.
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The main purpose of this study is to monitor the business environment and assess the impact government policies and the regulatory requirements have on businesses operating in Moldova.
... See More + The project was carried out based on the following goals: (i) providing the government of the Republic of Moldova and the national and international institutions with quantitative data on the cost incurred by businesses to comply with government regulations; (ii) provide support to the government of Moldova on quality policy analysis with a view to implement the necessary decisions to improve business and investment climates in Moldova; (iii) assist the civil society institutions that make recommendations and need to monitor their impact; and (iv) establish a tool to monitor the evolution of business environment and the impact of the measures taken to reduce barriers and corruption in business. The sample covers 634 companies, excluding agricultural enterprises, individuals and banking institutions and the data was collected throughout October-November 2015. The key findings were as follows: (i) compared with two years ago, the registration procedures lasted longer; (ii) the number of companies that build their premises by themselves substantially decreased; (iii) the duration of obtaining licenses reduced from 18 to 11 days and, the licensing costs were reduced by about 40 percent compared to 2013; (iv) duration of import procedures maintained a downward trend since 2012; (v) the time needed for customs procedures for export remained at the past two years level; (vi) the time for certification of individual batches of goods decreased, but it grew for certification of product lines; (vii) the share of those who need sanitary certificates has decreased in the past five years, reaching 34 percent in 2015; (viii) the frequency of inspections has decreased, but the positive effect was canceled by the increase in time spent by inspectors at a company; (ix) the conditions on the procedures of registration and taxation have not changed; (x) the company’s share dropped more than three times compared to 2009; (xi) as a result of the economic crisis, the number of companies facing over staffing had increased; (xii) state involvement in the conclusion and execution of contracts was a rare practice; and (xiii) both the duration and cost of obtaining phytosanitary certificates were lower than for other types of certificates. To conclude, the general time indicator practically remained unchanged during 2009-2015. Small fluctuations were due to natural dispersion rather than any improvement or deterioration in perception.
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