In Lesotho we led two projects and trained several practitioners. See below for country related content.
Projects
In April 2017, BSC began a two-year engagement with the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), an intergovernmental organization based in South Africa, to build capability for Public Financial Management (PFM) reform in Africa.
Teams from Central African Republic, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and The Gambia participated in this program.
Building PFM Capabilities in Africa – 2018
The team from Lesotho focused on:
Problem: The Ministry of Finance does not know how much Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) require or when cash is required.
What was done: The team developed a fishbone diagram, which identified the following main causes to their problem: data credibility, revenue concerns, monitoring and evaluation, communication and coordination, expenditure plans, and budget issues (formulation and execution). The team managed to improve reconciliation, expenditure plans, bank accounts database management, and monitoring and communication.
Project Photos
Building PFM Capabilities in Africa – 2017
The team from Lesotho focused on:
Problem: MDAs do not adhere to the given ceilings/appropriated budget.
What was done: The team embarked on an extensive consultation process with MDAs and numerous departments within the Treasury. The team conducted training sessions for all 35 MDAs in groups for four days. The team established a Technical Working Group to improve the economic assumptions underlying forecasts. The team also did analysis of virements and identified the organizations that vire the most money.
What was learned: Reforms need dedicated teams. Collaboration with other departments in the ministry is essential for the success of this programme. It is not the magnitude of how much has been achieved but all the small steps taken towards achieving the goal that counts.
Project Photos
