By Judith Ugwumadu | 31 January 2014
The World Bank is to help the Democratic Republic of Congo overhaul its public financial management practices to improve transparency and effectiveness in the use of public resources.
The bank has sanctioned a $5m grant for the west-central African nation to strengthen the credibility, transparency and accountability of the government’s management of public finances.
Its Public Financial Management and Accountability Project (PFMAP) is intended to have a positive social impact in Congo by improving public confidence in PFM through steps designed to strengthen budget oversight and execution and increase citizens’ access to key financial information.
Eustache Ouayoro, the World Bank’s country director for the Democratic Republic of Congo, explained that after two decades of political instability and lawlessness the country has shown great resilience by posting high economic growth rates in the last three years. He also said that the end of the war created new opportunities for the country to make good use of its vast mineral and water resources.
Ouayoro said: ‘The focus of [the] project on addressing public financial management challenges, and creating strong and capable institutions will set the foundation for DRC’s exceptional resource endowment to be translated into long-term, shared growth and will boost the livelihoods of the country’s 71 million, mostly poor, residents.’
Last year, the African Development Bank predicted that the country's economy would grow by 5.1% in 2013 and 5.3% in 2014, up from 4.9% in 2012. Apart from oil, the country has large mineral, forest and natural gas resources and good agricultural potential, yet the structure of the economy has changed little, according to the AfDB. The bank added that growth rates were dependent on faster economic reforms and proper management of the risks posed by a deteriorating world economic outlook, especially lower demand for oil and thus lower prices.
Subsequently, the World Bank made it clear that its project will focus on reforms such as empowering line ministries to execute the government’s budget, as well as strengthening financial reporting and cash management procedures, internal and external auditing and public financial management in the Kasai Orintal and Nord Kiv provinces.
The bank said it hopes that the reform would encourage public oversight of the government’s expenditures. The project supports new tools and procedures to inform people about the processes of preparing, monitoring and auditing the budget.
Renaud Seligmann, manager of the World Bank’s financial management centre for west and central Africa, added: ‘By improving financial management transparency, increasing civil society’s knowledge of public finances and redirecting funds to boost social service delivery, the PFMAP supports the people’s interest in government policies, creates shared growth and improves the quality of life for Congolese in rural and urban communities.’
