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Public Financial Management for PRSP - Deutsches Institut für ...

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<strong>Public</strong> <strong>Financial</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>PRSP</strong> Implementation in Malawi<br />

2. Resources <strong>for</strong> administrative PFM processes<br />

The substantial lack of funds in the civil service, even <strong>for</strong> the most<br />

basic administrative processes, threatens the functioning of the PFM<br />

system and leads to poor budgetary outcomes.<br />

3. Donor impact on PFM<br />

Poorly coordinated and unaligned donor activities tend to weaken<br />

annual and medium-term budget planning and contribute to undermining<br />

budget credibility.<br />

4. Coordination <strong>for</strong> PFM<br />

Poor coordination between ministries, departments and agencies as<br />

well as between different levels of government undermines the<br />

whole budget process.<br />

a) Horizontal coordination at central government level (MoF-<br />

MEPD)<br />

Although responsibilities between MoF and MEPD are clearly assigned<br />

to one of the two ministries in most cases, coordination problems<br />

arise, as MoF sometimes seems to push through its own priorities.<br />

b) Vertical coordination in general<br />

Coordination between central and local government level is characterised<br />

by a highly hierarchical system, which results in poor vertical<br />

in<strong>for</strong>mation flows, in particular from the bottom to the top. With<br />

regard to in<strong>for</strong>mation flows, unclear distribution of responsibilities<br />

and the introduction of new PFM tools as well as local authorities’<br />

dependency on transfers from central government, this leads to delays<br />

and uncertainty in the budget process. Finally, this results in in<strong>for</strong>mal<br />

practices at local government level.<br />

c) Vertical-sectoral coordination (MoE, MoH)<br />

As devolution in the sectors has not gone very far yet, communication<br />

and coordination between central and deconcentrated units of<br />

sector ministries do not appear to pose major problems yet. However,<br />

the envisaged devolution of sector responsibilities to local<br />

German Development <strong>Institut</strong>e 87

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