The International Monetary Fund’s Africa Regional Technical Assistance Center South (AFRITAC South) held a seminar on “Accounting and Reporting Implications of Performance-Based Budgeting (PBB)” in Mauritius, from April 29 to May 1, 2013.

Twenty-nine finance ministry officials from 12 AFRITAC South member countries (Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe) attended the seminar. Representatives from the African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions in English-speaking Africa (AFROSAI-E), the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the European Union (EU), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the World Bank also attended the seminar.

International experts and IMF staff explored with participants how to develop well-defined chart of accounts and government program classification; how to cost government programs and enhance the performance information and accountability framework; how to configure performance-based budgeting formulation and reporting and to monitor, evaluate and interpret results for prioritization of program funding. Specifically, participants reviewed regional experiences of PBB in health and education.

“Shifting from line-item budgeting to performance and program budgeting will improve transparency and accountability and also contribute to more efficient and effective delivery of public services,” Mr. Neil Cole, Executive Secretary of CABRI, underscored.

“The seminar enabled participants to share ideas and experiences on PBB and related accounting and reporting frameworks of government operations and the linkages with non-financial performance information against the background of international practices,” Mr. Christ Paddia, lead analyst of the Mauritius Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, said. He also welcomed the support of the IMF, CABRI, and other development partners to provide technical assistance and capacity building in the area of PBB.

Mr. Vitaliy Kramarenko, AFRITAC South Coordinator, stressed the importance of PBB for achieving government objectives of sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. He also highlighted the merits of inclusivity of all stakeholders, including representatives of civil society organization, in the budgeting process and the evaluation of performance of government programs.