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Public finance management under review in Laos
The Steering Committee of the Public Financial Management Strengthening Programme (PFMSP) under the Ministry of Finance met with development partners yesterday in Vientiane.
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| Dr Viengthong Siphandone speaks at the finance sector meeting. |
The meeting reviewed the progress of implementation of the PFMSP programme for the 2011-2012 fiscal year and drew up a work plan for fiscal year 2012-2013. The workshop was presided over by Deputy Minister of Finance Dr Viengthong Siphandone.
Speaking at the meeting, Dr Viengthong, who is President of the PFMSP Steering Committee, noted that the programme was adopted in 2005 by the Prime Minister and now comes under the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance. This was the first meeting to be convened since the mid-term review.
The programme aims to improve budget planning and implementation, financial reporting and public finance inspection, so that public financial management becomes stronger, more transparent and more effective over time.
Dr Viengthong said the effective management of public finances was directly linked to development outcomes, because unless the revenue from investment projects is directed to the government budget, development progress will stall.
She highlighted the success of the past work of the PFMSP, pointing to improvements in shaping documents and mid-term PFMSP implementation for 2011-2015, in line with the 7th Five Year National Socio-economic Development Plan.
The socio-economic deve-lopment plan is progressing well, with the economy expanding at an average rate of 8 percent per year. Income per capita is rising along with economic growth, bringing the country closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and escaping from least developed country status. The key is to ensure that revenues from investments flow back to improvements in basic infrastructure, health and education.
Some of the achievements in this regard include improving fiscal management capacities through training key personnel, and the improvement of legislation on income and expenditure management such as the Customs Law, Tax Law, Insurance Law, and other associated regulations.
“These achievements would not have been possible without the concerted efforts of Ministry of Finance staff, as well as technical and financial support from development partners, including the World Bank, AusAID, JICA, and SIDA,” Dr Viengthong said.
However, she acknowledged there would be further challenges ahead in terms of strengthening the fiscal management of government revenues. She reminded all those present that they were there to review the progress made in the past year, to identify any weaknesses and to chart a path for the following year.
Dr Viengthong urged the steering committee to further improve the Budget Law and State Property Law. The committee had to implement these laws clearly, and ensure that financial management mechanisms were suitable, strong and transparent.
In addition, the committee needed to improve the budget planning process, to ensure timely and accurate fiscal reporting and budget evaluation, she said.
vientiane times
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