Government of Republic of South Sudan Public Finance Management Assessment : Northern Bahr el Ghazal State

Abstract

The purpose of this assessment is to assess the public finance management (PFM) system performance of the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Government (NBGSG). The assessment is one of a number of public expenditure and financial accountability (PEFA) assessments being conducted in South Sudan. The PEFA assessment is focused on the PFM systems of NBGSG in South Sudan and the county of Aweil West, one of NBGS's six counties. The state governments are implementing the same PFM reform programs as at the central government level, with the help of Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP) and key spending agencies (for example, health), supported by technical assistance from donors, particularly United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): economic planning project, local government and recovery project, and rapid capacity placement initiative. The sequence is similar to that of the central government PFM reform program, with initial strong emphasis on strengthening planning and budgeting systems and using the same techniques. Reforms in budget execution are also similar, though somewhat lagging the reforms at central level.