World Bank loan to the Ministry of Finance

Improving the fiscal policy
analysis and debt management

The World Bank approved today a loan of $ 5.2 million the Ministry of Finance. The fund is earmarked for improving the efficiency of financial management systems and promoting effective use of resources in fiscal policy analysis and debt management. This loan comes within a broad ‘Financial Management Reform Project’ that is being implemented at the Ministry of Finance and at the Central Bank, among other public departments.

The Project will mostly benefit the Directorate General of Finance at the Ministry of Finance. “The reform agenda is supported by several donors, and activities are being coordinated to optimize synergies and take full advantage of the added values and expertise of all partners,” said Ferid Belhaj, World Bank Director for the Mashreq.

The Central Bank that works on debt and cash management, and the Court of Accounts that focuses on the control environment will also benefit from the loan. A number of ministries will be selected in the areas of budget preparation, commitment controls, and liquidation procedures. The Central Tender Board will lead on procurement related reforms. The Institute of Finance will manage training implementation.

“The project adopts a bottom-up approach by empowering civil servants to provide sound technical input to decision makers, to improve policy making,” said Joey Ghaleb, World Bank Senior Public Sector Specialist. He said: “A strong emphasis will be placed on building the capacity of relevant staff to lay the groundwork for much needed structural reforms in public financial management, which will materialize when the legislative and executive gridlocks are removed.”

This is the Second Financial Management Reform Project based on the results of a previous bank supported operation that contributed to developing a comprehensive reform strategy by the Ministry of Finance over a five-year period.