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International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
Uganda has achieved significant improvements in public investment management over the last few years. The new IMF Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA) report shows that Uganda is well ahead of its comparators in many aspects of public investment management, in particular in institutional design. A number of important measures have been undertaken, including giving the Development Committee a strong role as a gatekeeper for new investment proposals, the establishment of the Projects Analysis and Public Investment Department, and development of guidelines and manuals to improve the quality of project preparation and appraisal. Many reforms are fairly recent and are not fully institutionalized, so there is a clear need to continue and to further strengthen public investment management in Uganda. The IMF and other development partners are active partners to the government in pursuing these reforms.
International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
This Technical Assistance report discusses options to revamp the 2013 Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), taking into account the challenges posed by the current context in Maldives. The government has not met the FRA’s numerical targets for fiscal deficits and public debt. In order to ensure fiscal sustainability and enhance transparency, the Maldivian authorities are committed to introducing a new FRA in 2021. The Government needs firm and credible targets for debt and fiscal deficits in its debt-reduction efforts; however, past experiences of noncompliance with the numerical fiscal rules has undermined its credibility. A principles-based approach, accompanied by strong accountability requirements, would provide the authorities with the flexibility to respond to adverse macroeconomic developments. The new FRA would clearly define the specific roles of Parliament and the Auditor General in the fiscal responsibility framework. This report suggests enhancing fiscal oversight by strengthening the role of Parliament and the Auditor General. The report also identifies several areas of public financial management that should be addressed in other PFM laws for the successful implementation of the new FRA.
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper analyzes Uganda’s Request for Disbursement Under the Rapid Credit Facility. The Ugandan economy is severely affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In order to contain the impact of the pandemic, the authorities have increased health spending, strengthened social protection to the most vulnerable, and enhanced their support to the private sector. The Bank of Uganda has appropriately reduced interest rates and provided liquidity to safeguard financial stability, while maintaining exchange rate flexibility. The weakening economic conditions emanating from the Covid-19 pandemic have put significant pressures on revenue collection, expenditure, reserves and the exchange rate, creating urgent large external and fiscal financing needs. The IMF continues to monitor Uganda’s situation closely and stands ready to provide policy advice and further support as needed. The authorities have also committed to put in place targeted transparency and accountability measures to ensure the appropriate use of emergency financing. The IMF’s emergency financial support under the RCF, along with the additional donor financing it is expected to help catalyze, will help address Uganda’s urgent balance of payments and budget support needs.
International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
This Fiscal Transparency Evaluation (FTE) assesses the quality of fiscal reporting in Kenya against the principles set out in the Fiscal Transparency Code. Kenya has experienced a lot of structural and economic changes since 2014. One of the key objectives of this FTE is to estimate Kenya’s balance sheet, and to cover as many as possible of the entities in the public sector. The coverage of Kenya’s reporting of fiscal statistics has improved considerably. The report discusses that Kenya continues to perform well in the overall transparency of its fiscal forecasting and budgeting practices (Pillar II of the Code), which is based on a strong legal framework. It does so against a backdrop of significant ongoing reforms, including far-reaching fiscal devolution to counties, and the introduction of performance-based budgeting. A recent important change in the law is expected to synchronize the submission and approval of the government’s spending proposals and the tax measures in the Finance Bill. The recommendations set out under each of the pillars of this report aim to address several challenges. The report also encourages the authorities to continue with the implementation of the recommendations set out in the 2014 report, on which good or satisfactory progress has been made in about half the cases.
International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
This Technical Assistance report on the Uganda focuses on strengthening the performance of public investment management – next phase. Significant progress has been achieved since 2015 in strengthening public investment management, with the reforms showing first results. New procedures need to be designed to refresh project information and assess the status of ongoing projects. With better information, a robust prioritization process of ongoing and new projects within the medium-term envelope should be implemented. Discussions with Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and the mission’s analysis of the upgraded project data identified inconsistencies between projects’ planned use of resources, approved project budgets and the medium-term resource envelope. Reliable and updated information on project forward estimates and commitments like signed contracts and certificates of work is fundamental for ensuring sufficient and timely funding of projects. Recent strengthening of Public Investment Management processes has been accomplished with limited changes to the legal framework.
International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
This Technical Assistance Report discusses the initiation of the stock-taking of the public investment program in Uganda. This stock-taking will provide a basis for better budgeting by providing information on the existing multi-year project commitments, and the incremental recurrent costs for operation and maintenance of the assets delivered. It will also identify a basic information structure for each project and subsequently collect a data baseline, providing a foundation for more robust project monitoring. It will aid the management of the overall project portfolio. By identifying the scale of existing multi-annual commitments, it will avoid adding projects to the investment pipeline, which cannot be financed under the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
This paper evaluates the status of fiscal transparency in Uganda, where some key elements of fiscal transparency are in place. These have been augmented in recent years through a number of reforms. The Public Finance Management Act 2015 specifies the budget calendar, the main contents of budget documents, and the roles of the legislature and the executive in the budget process. There are some problems with the coverage, quality, and reliability of some information. Improving fiscal transparency will give the government a better understanding of the fiscal position and its exposure to fiscal risks, which will support effective fiscal and budget management in the face of these challenges.
International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
This Technical Assistance report proposes a roadmap for completing the process of drafting and adopting an Integrated Legal Framework for Public Financial Management (PFM) in Zambia. The legal framework for PFM in Zambia is fragmented, and much of it is outdated. The government has prioritized a revision of the existing legal framework for PFM and national development planning. This revision will permit a range of important PFM reforms that are ongoing or planned to be incorporated within the legal framework. An updated legal framework would also permit other important improvements in current practices to be incorporated.
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper focuses on Uganda’s Second Review Under the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) and Request for Modification of Assessment Criteria. Economic performance of Uganda has been broadly favorable. Progress has been made on structural reforms, but further steps are needed. Starting the construction of the two hydropower projects without further delay, approving and regulating the Public Financial Management Bill, and strengthening accounting controls are crucial steps in the reform effort. The expected amendments to the Bank of Uganda Act should support the inflation targeting regime. Based on the proposed policies, the IMF staff supports completion of the second PSI review.
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper focuses on Uganda’s 2013 Article IV Consultation and Sixth Review Under the Policy Support Instrument, Request for a Three-Year Policy Support Instrument and cancellation of Current Policy Support Instrument. Driven mainly by investment and trade, growth has recovered to about 5 percent, a stronger than expected rebound from the low 3½ percent expansion registered last year. Fast implementation of road construction, the start of operations of the Bujagali hydropower plant, and a good harvest boosted aggregate demand. Envisaged public finance management reforms are set to address the problems of persistent under budgeting, arrears accumulation, and failure to sanction financial irregularities.