A Review of Experience in Implementing Medium-Term Expenditure Frameworks in a PRSP Context: A Synthesis of Eight Country Studies

CAPE has completed a cross-country comparative study of Medium-Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEFs) in eight African countries and one European country. A synthesis paper discusses the results of case studies conducted in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Albania. MTEF development in each country is characterized as maturing, coming together, or struggling. The CAPE website features the individual papers from the 9 country case studies, and a Good Practice Guidance Note that was prepared to assist policy makers and donors in the implementation of an MTEF in the context of national poverty reduction strategies.

Are New PFM Reforms in the WAEMU and the CEMAC Working? Lessons from the Open Budget Survey

April 2014 | International Budget Partnership

The objective of this paper is to revisit the evolution of budget transparency, government accountability, and citizen engagement in the budgetary process in WAEMU and CEMAC countries. It uses the  Open Budget Survey to assess Member States’ compliance with new regional PFM Directives and therefore good governance and budget transparency.

Benin

Transparency (Open Budget Index) 45/100 

The Government of Benin provides the public with limited budget information.

 Public Participation 17/100

The Government of Benin is weak in providing the public with opportunities to engage in the budget process.

Budget Oversight

By legislature 27/100

Budget oversight by the legislature in Benin is weak.

 By auditor 42/100

Budget oversight by the supreme audit institution in Benin is limited.

Recommendations

Improving Transparency

Benin should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

  •  Produce and publish a Year-End Report and an Audit Report.
  • Increase the comprehensiveness of the Executive Budget Proposal by presenting more information on the classification of expenditures for future years and the classification of revenues for future years.
  • Increase the comprehensiveness of the Pre-Budget Statement by including information on the composition of the total debt and multi-year expenditure estimates.
 Improving Participation

Benin should prioritize the following actions to improve budget participation:

  •  Establish credible and effective mechanisms (i.e., public hearings, surveys, focus groups) for capturing a range of public perspectives on budget matters.
  • Hold legislative hearings on the state of the economy that are attended by the executive and open to the public.
  • Establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist the supreme audit institution to formulate its audit program and participate in audit investigations.
 Improving Oversight

Benin should prioritize the following actions to strengthen budget oversight:

  •  Ensure the legislature holds a pre-budget debate and the outcome is reflected in the Enacted Budget.
  • Ensure the executive receives prior approval by the legislature before implementing a supplemental budget.
  • Grant the supreme audit institution full powers to undertake audits as it sees fit.

Benin

[vc_section][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_column_text el_class=”country-summary-score”]

Transparency

39

out of 100
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Public Participation

9

out of 100
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Budget Oversight

61

out of 100
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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]IBP considers countries that score above 60 on the Open Budget Index as providing sufficient budget information to enable the public to engage in budget discussions in an informed manner. IBP considers countries scoring above 60 on participation and oversight as providing adequate opportunities for the public to participate in the budget process and providing adequate oversight practices, respectively.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”white” border_width=”10″][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section el_id=”transparency”][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Transparency (Open Budget Index)

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39

out of 100

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Benin provides the public with minimal budget information.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][rrj_bar_chart title=”How Has the Open Budget Index Score Changed Over Time?” labels=”2012; 2015; 2017″ datasets=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Score%20(out%20of%20100)%22%2C%22tooltips_format%22%3A%22%7By%7D%22%2C%22values%22%3A%221%3B%5Ct45%3B%5Ct39%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22%23a1a14e%22%2C%22bar_bg%22%3A%22plain%22%7D%5D” cat_per=”50″ legend=”” tooltip_mode=”nearest” title_align=”left” title_tag=”h5″ axes_color=”#333333″ axis_zero=”yes” jsoptions=”e3NjYWxlczogewogICAgICAgIHlBeGVzOiBbewogICAgICAgICAgICB0aWNrczogewogICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgbWF4OiAxMDAsIAogICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgbWluOiAwLAogICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgc3RlcFNpemU6IDEwLAogICAgICAgICAgICB9CiAgICAgICAgfV0KICAgIH0KfQo=” css=”.vc_custom_1520359904818{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

Recommendations for Improving Transparency

Benin should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

  • Produce and publish a Mid-Year Review.
  • Increase the information provided in the Executive’s Budget Proposal by providing more detail on expenditures, debt, and the financial position of the government.
  • Increase the information provided in the Year-End Report by providing a more comprehensive account of actual outcomes for expenditures and comparisons between planned outcomes and actual outcomes for revenues.
  • Continue to publish the Audit Report online in a timely manner.

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Public Participation

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text el_class=”country-summary-score”]

9

out of 100

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Benin provides few opportunities for the public to engage in the budget process.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column width=”1/2″ el_class=”country-summary”][vc_progress_bar values=”%5B%7B%22label%22%3A%22Global%20Average%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2212%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Benin%22%2C%22value%22%3A%229%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23ff7a22%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Democratic%20Republic%20of%20Congo%22%2C%22value%22%3A%229%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Cameroon%22%2C%22value%22%3A%227%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Mali%22%2C%22value%22%3A%226%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Senegal%22%2C%22value%22%3A%222%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Chad%22%2C%22value%22%3A%220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22C%C3%B4te%20d%E2%80%99Ivoire%22%2C%22value%22%3A%220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Burkina%20Faso%22%2C%22value%22%3A%220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Niger%22%2C%22value%22%3A%220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%5D” bgcolor=”custom” title=”How Does Public Participation Compare to Other Countries in the Region?” units=”/100″ el_class=”country-summary” custombgcolor=”#ffffff” customtxtcolor=”#333333″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

Recommendations for Improving Participation

Benin should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in its budget process:

  • Pilot mechanisms for members of the public and executive branch officials to exchange views on national budget matters during both the formulation of the national budget and the monitoring of its implementation. These mechanisms could build on innovations, such as participatory budgeting and social audits. For examples of such mechanisms, see fiscaltransparency.net/mechanisms.
  • Hold legislative hearings on the Audit Report, during which members of the public or civil society organizations can testify.

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Budget Oversight (by Legislature & Audit)

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61

out of 100

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]The legislature and supreme audit institution in Benin provide adequate oversight of the budget.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_progress_bar values=”%5B%7B%22label%22%3A%22Formulation%2FApproval%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2257%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Execution%2FAudit%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2267%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%5D” bgcolor=”custom” title=”To What Extent Does the Legislature Provide Budget Oversight?” units=”/100″ el_class=”country-summary” custombgcolor=”#ffffff” customtxtcolor=”#333333″][vc_column_text]The legislature provides adequate oversight during the budget cycle. This score reflects that the legislature provides limited oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and adequate oversight during the implementation stage of the budget cycle.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column][vc_progress_bar values=”%5B%7B%22label%22%3A%22Adequate%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2261%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%5D” bgcolor=”custom” title=”To What Extent Does the Supreme Audit Institution Provide Budget Oversight?” units=”/100″ el_class=”country-summary” custombgcolor=”#ffffff” customtxtcolor=”#333333″][vc_column_text]

The supreme audit institution provides adequate budget oversight.

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Recommendations for Improving Oversight

Benin should prioritize the following actions to make budget oversight more effective:

  • Ensure legislative committees examine and publish reports on their analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal online.
  • Ensure a legislative committee examines and publishes reports on in-year budget implementation online.
  • Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.
  • Consider setting up an independent fiscal institution to further strengthen budget oversight.

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Learn More

The information on this page presents a partial country summary. For more detailed information, please download:

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