EU provides 8.2 million Euros for Public Finance Management Programme in Swaziland (17/03/2014)

The European Union (EU) and the Government of Swaziland today signed a Financing Agreement under which the EU will provide Euros 8.2 million (approx. SZL 123 million) to assist Swaziland strengthen her economic governance through improved public financial management systems, institutions and procedures – all in a bid to create a macro-fiscal environment conducive to optimize the allocation of public resources as well as accelerate economic growth and reduce poverty.

Amongst its key result areas, the programme aims at strengthening the capacities of state organs such as Parliament, the office of the Auditor General and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) which exercise budget oversight functions.

"This contribution further demonstrates the EU's commitment and continued support to Swaziland's development initiatives. Through this programme the EU is pleased to support the Government of Swaziland in the implementation of public finance management reforms as highlighted by the Minister of Finance in his budget speech recently," said EU Ambassador, Mr Nicola Bellomo, during the signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development (MEPD) conference room.  

Ambassador Bellomo signed on behalf of the EU whilst the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, Mr Bertram Stewart, signed on behalf of the Government of Swaziland.

Also present during the event was Mr Angel Carro Castrillo, Head of Division at the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels in charge of political relations with southern African countries.

The programme has three key result areas:

  1. Improving budget planning and formulation, comprehensiveness and transparency, focussing on capacity building in public financial management and the introduction of the medium term expenditure framework – with the objective to improve linkages between the national budget and the country's planning frameworks;
  2. Improving budget execution and credibility through support to the Ministry of Finance, central agencies and relevant departments involved with budget management and control; and, 
  3. Improving budget oversight functions by strengthening the capacities of bodies that exercise oversight functions in public finance management issues such as Parliament, office of the Auditor General, Anti-Corruption Commission and other oversight agencies, so they can fulfil their mandate 


A recent assessment conducted on the status of public finance management in Swaziland concluded that Public Finance Management (PFM) in Swaziland requires strengthening because of weak budgeting, planning and formulation, weal budget execution and inadequate budget oversight. These weak PFM arrangements undermine efforts by the Government of Swaziland to achieve its national development objectives.

Amongst many other activities, the programme will also assist in resuscitating macroeconomic forecasting and modelling, strengthen in-house skills for optimal use and improve the capacity of the Ministry of Finance staff on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) based on sound macroeconomic and revenue forecasts aligned with programme-based budgeting. It will support the Fiscal Adjustment Roadmap (FAR) interventions on the options for diversification of revenue sources and help improve and upgrade the accounting systems and procedures. The programme will further strengthen internal audit capacity and improve the linkages between the institutions and bodies responsible for the financial management oversight function.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) will be responsible for the implementation of key result areas 1 and 2 (i.e., budget planning and formulation improved and budget management and controls and in-year fiscal reporting improved, respectively) whilst key result area 3 (budget oversight) will be implemented through a partially decentralized management with the European Union. The programme will have a total execution period of 84 months.

Commenting on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland, Mr. Bertram Stewart, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development,
said:

 

  • The support towards improving and upgrading our Public Finance Management (PFM) systems is warmly welcome, as this will not only build the requisite capacities among relevant public officers but will also help improve Swaziland’s chances of increasing its external resource envelope.
  • The programme has come at an opportune time when the Government of Swaziland is implementing several public sector reforms such as the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) and the Capital Budgeting, Planning and Management System (CBPMS); hence the intervention by the EU will help consolidate our efforts towards improving management capacities and efficiencies within the public sector and also improve overall Government delivery.
  • The Government and the people of the Kingdom of Swaziland are thus very grateful for all the support provided by the European Union under the Cotonou Partnership Agreement – a partnership that is truly built on mutual respect and cooperation.

 

For more information on the support provided to Swaziland by the EU, please contact:

Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, Aid Coordination and Management Section