Aid on Spreadsheets

Budget Strengthening Initiative

The overarching objective of the four-year project is to build capacities of the government in strengthening budget comprehensiveness, establishing a credible State budget while striving for a fair and accountable distribution of public services to Liberian citizens. The main thrust of the project is to contribute to the implementation of the 2017 – 2020 National PFM Strategy and Action Plan, and in particular thematic area two of the Strategy “Enhanced budget credibility to support service delivery”. Thus, the project will build capacities of government to strengthen budget comprehensiveness and budget credibility to support service delivery in the key areas of: a) Strengthening the budget process by establishing a more coherent link between strategic planning and budgeting and strengthening the relationship between MFDP and service delivery entities, thereby ensuring that government commitments are turned into time-bound resource allocations; b) Strengthening financial reporting, cash management, and accounting procedures to enable the better use of information to improve budget execution; c) Improving revenue forecasting and enhance domestic resources for financing the National Budget by strengthening the revenue and tax policy function; d) Incorporating aid projects into the National Budget, thereby contributing to improved aid effectiveness through a more efficient allocation of public resources in Liberia; e) Improving capital project implementation to improve service delivery for Liberian citizens; and f) Strengthening debt analysis and debt management, thereby contributing to improved macroeconomic forecasting, budgeting, and cash planning in Liberia. The intended way of structuring project work is as follows: - Project activities focusing e.g. on on-the-job training or introduction of new forms and procedures in the budget process will be measured through a number of outputs, i.e. project activities such as training occasions, introduction of new forms or instructions, etc. - These ouputs will eventually make it possible to have access to more accurate and comprehensive information that is important for the budget process. This will result in outcomes such as more accurate prioritizations in the State Budget or increased transparency of the information in the State Budget, impacting on control over public resources and possibilities to present accurate budget information to citizens. - In combination with a technically improved system for budget execution and continued fiscal decentralisation, these outcomes will eventually directly impact on the possibilities to reduce poverty and strengthen poor people’s rights. The intended changes following the project are: a correctly structured State Budget, made possible through access to correct and comprehensive information, well operating support systems in the budget process, well defined procedures and political decision making at the right level and the right time. These changes will make it possible to direct more public resources to actual poverty reduction. With a new government in place with newly appointed staff since January 2018, there is a dire need to build capacities of government officials in the State Budget planning process. This support would be delivered at a crucial time for the government and the country, and thus build on the fruitful cooperation and trust that has been established between BSI and the Liberian government over the past seven years, aimed at addressing the real needs and problems identified by the MFDP.

The overarching objective of the four-year project is to build capacities of the government in strengthening budget comprehensiveness, establishing a credible State budget while striving for a fair and accountable distribution of public services to Liberian citizens.

Project ID

SE-0-SE-6-11394A0101-LBR-15110

Activity status

2 - Implementation

Aid type

C01 - Project-type interventions

% to Liberia

100.00

Organisations

Funding

Sweden

Extending

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Implementing

University, college or other teaching institution, research institute or think-tank

Accountable

ODI/OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT INSTI

CRS code	%
Public sector policy and administrative management (15110)	100.0