Publication:
Guinea Bissau - The Challenge of Restoring Budgetary Discipline : A Public Expenditure Review

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (7.85 MB)
181 downloads
English Text (365.52 KB)
314 downloads
Date
2004-02-05
ISSN
Published
2004-02-05
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This Public Expenditure Review (PER) presents a critical view of Guinea-Bissau's nascent democratic structure, one that does not ensure a clear separation of powers, which results in the need for the judiciary to exercise its lacking independence. Restoring budgetary discipline requires a series of actions in the area of fiscal policy at the macroeconomic level, as well as measures geared towards better prioritization, and allocation of public resources. At the same time, the government needs to resume efforts initiated before the conflict of 1998/99, and take steps to reform the current public finance management system. The renewed reform agenda should focus on the budget cycle encompassing the legal framework regulating it, the way the budget is formulated, executed, controlled and accounted for, so that it can be possible to improve efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the use of public resources. The main findings include institutional weaknesses and recurrent macroeconomic imbalances; an economy heavily dependent on exports, vulnerable to seasonal supply shocks; thus, to circumvent a situation of growing financial difficulties, and institutional fragility, the public finance management system has become largely informal, with grave, undesired consequences in terms of transparency and accountability. The report focuses on institutional reforms, aimed at improving the government's revenue mobilization capacity, and strengthening budgetary discipline. Recommendations for the social sectors suggest seeking additional sources of public sector financing; strengthening regulation of the private sector in Health; reviewing the structure of the education budget; and, negotiating a more flexible use of donor funding, integrating the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process with the sectors' planning efforts. To this end, the coverage of the budget should be increased, coordination of information improved, the budget preparation process strengthened, enhancing expenditure control, through greater legislative and civil society involvement in the budget process.
Link to Data Set
Citation
World Bank. 2004. Guinea Bissau - The Challenge of Restoring Budgetary Discipline : A Public Expenditure Review. Public expenditure review (PER);. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14682 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    Peru - Restoring Fiscal Discipline for Poverty Reduction : A Public Expenditure Review
    (Washington, DC, 2002-10-24) World Bank
    This public expenditure review is produced jointly by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, and focuses on social sectors spending and leaves aside infrastructure and other sectors. This report, finalized in June 2002 and discussed with Authorities in mid-August 2002, does not take into account policy developments occurring after this time. The report is organized as follows: Chapter 1 presents a synthesis of Peru's public expenditure reform agenda from the Bank's perspective. It is based on, and distills, the thematic chapters that make up this report. Chapters 2-4 examine the core functions of public expenditure management: macro fiscal aggregates, resource allocations to strategic sectors, and microeconomic efficiency of public spending. Chapters 5-8 explore selected themes, such as the decentralization of public administration and the social sectors; civil service reform; governance and corruption; and and mining fiscal and environmental issues. These chapters are, in turn, supported by fifteen topic-specific background papers, including an innovative public expenditure tracking survey on municipal transfers. Other topics focus on public sector employment; decentralization of health and education; an empirical diagnostic study on governance, rule of law, and corruption; and a comparison of the Peruvian tax system with mining tax systems in other nations.
  • Publication
    Restoring Fiscal Discipline for Poverty Reduction in Peru : A Public Expenditure Review
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003-06) World Bank; Inter-American Development Bank
    This public expenditure review is produced jointly by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, and focuses on social sectors spending and leaves aside infrastructure and other sectors. This report, finalized in June 2002 and discussed with Authorities in mid-August 2002, does not take into account policy developments occurring after this time. The report is organized as follows: Chapter 1 presents a synthesis of Peru's public expenditure reform agenda from the Bank's perspective. It is based on, and distills, the thematic chapters that make up this report. Chapters 2-4 examine the core functions of public expenditure management: macro fiscal aggregates, resource allocations to strategic sectors, and microeconomic efficiency of public spending. Chapters 5-8 explore selected themes, such as the decentralization of public administration and the social sectors; civil service reform; governance and corruption; and mining fiscal and environmental issues. These chapters are, in turn, supported by fifteen topic-specific background papers, including an innovative public expenditure tracking survey on municipal transfers. Other topics focus on public sector employment; decentralization of health and education; an empirical diagnostic study on governance, rule of law, and corruption; and a comparison of the Peruvian tax system with mining tax systems in other nations.
  • Publication
    Philippines - Improving Government Performance : Discipline, Efficiency and Equity in Managing Public Resources
    (Washington, DC, 2003-04-30) World Bank
    The Philippine authorities, confronted with an unfavorable governance and macroeconomic environment in 2001, established a consistent track record in 2001 in stabilizing the economy and improving investor sentiment. The unfolding developments in 2002-03, however, pose a threat to a still fragile fiscal and institutional environment, and can dim the prospects for attaining the Philippines' target for higher growth and renewed poverty reduction. Fiscal sustainability and the government's ability to finance poverty-reducing programscontinues to be at risk from falling revenues, rising public debt and debt service, and off-budget risks. This constrained environment makes it doubly important to focus on increasing fiscal flexibility through increasing revenue collections and enhancing the discipline, efficiency, and equity of public expenditures. the objective of this public Expenditure, Procurement and Financial Management Review (PEPFMR) is to examine selected issues in the allocation and managmeent of public resources of interest to the Philippine authorities, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It aims to help the authorities to establish more effective and transparent policies and processes for allocating and using public resources to reduce poverty and promote economic growth. After the Executive Summary which summarizes the key PEPFMR findings and highlights critical actions to improve the management of public expenditures, there are five sections. Most of the report is contained in three main sections: aggregate fiscal discipline, allocative efficiency, and operational efficiency. A fourth section on decentralization highlights some issues as a prelude to a review of the decentralization experience since 1991 and its impact on issues such as service delivery, equity, and efficiency. Themes such as accountability and transparency pervade the report and have not been dealt with separately. The action plan attahced to the Executive Summary indicates the most pressing issues confronting the authorities. The more detailed action plan at the end of this report contains the joint recommendations of the Government and the task team.
  • Publication
    Kazakhstan : Public Expenditure Review, Volume 1. Summary Report
    (Washington, DC, 2000-06-27) World Bank
    The report is the public expenditure review for Kazakhstan, and builds upon previous work on the country's transition experience to a market-oriented economy, and of recent public sector reforms. It comprises three volumes, namely, the Summary Report, the Main Report, and Annexes and Statistical Appendix, aiming at identifying key public expenditure issues, suggesting also, possible strategies, and policy options. Although the country achieved significant progress in liberalizing, and stabilizing the economy, including implementing institutional reforms to discipline public expenditures, outstanding issues remain, particularly regarding the persistent fiscal imbalance, the deficient domestic resource mobilization management, unreliable expenditure prioritization, and inefficient budgetary execution. The report suggests strategy options, and policy reforms that should, through a programmed deficit reduction, attain fiscal sustainability. These options address: the rationalization of domestic resource mobilization, mainly oil/gas rents to preserve domestic savings, capital, and development of non-oil sectors; the need for governmental action on program priority, such as budgeting, and performance evaluation; strengthening intergovernmental relations, through improved fiscal decentralization, increased local accountability, and tax reforms; and, creating the initiative for private participation.
  • Publication
    Kazakhstan : Public Expenditure Review, Volume 2. Main Report
    (Washington, DC, 2000-06-27) World Bank
    The report is the public expenditure review for Kazakhstan, and builds upon previous work on the country's transition experience to a market-oriented economy, and of recent public sector reforms. It comprises three volumes, namely, the Summary Report, the Main Report, and Annexes and Statistical Appendix, aiming at identifying key public expenditure issues, suggesting also, possible strategies, and policy options. Although the country achieved significant progress in liberalizing, and stabilizing the economy, including implementing institutional reforms to discipline public expenditures, outstanding issues remain, particularly regarding the persistent fiscal imbalance, the deficient domestic resource mobilization management, unreliable expenditure prioritization, and inefficient budgetary execution. The report suggests strategy options, and policy reforms that should, through a programmed deficit reduction, attain fiscal sustainability. These options address: the rationalization of domestic resource mobilization, mainly oil/gas rents to preserve domestic savings, capital, and development of non-oil sectors; the need for governmental action on program priority, such as budgeting, and performance evaluation; strengthening intergovernmental relations, through improved fiscal decentralization, increased local accountability, and tax reforms; and, creating the initiative for private participation.

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    The Journey Ahead
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31) Bossavie, Laurent; Garrote Sánchez, Daniel; Makovec, Mattia
    The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.
  • Publication
    South Asia Development Update, April 2024: Jobs for Resilience
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-02) World Bank
    South Asia is expected to continue to be the fastest-growing emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) region over the next two years. This is largely thanks to robust growth in India, but growth is also expected to pick up in most other South Asian economies. However, growth in the near-term is more reliant on the public sector than elsewhere, whereas private investment, in particular, continues to be weak. Efforts to rein in elevated debt, borrowing costs, and fiscal deficits may eventually weigh on growth and limit governments' ability to respond to increasingly frequent climate shocks. Yet, the provision of public goods is among the most effective strategies for climate adaptation. This is especially the case for households and farms, which tend to rely on shifting their efforts to non-agricultural jobs. These strategies are less effective forms of climate adaptation, in part because opportunities to move out of agriculture are limited by the region’s below-average employment ratios in the non-agricultural sector and for women. Because employment growth is falling short of working-age population growth, the region fails to fully capitalize on its demographic dividend. Vibrant, competitive firms are key to unlocking the demographic dividend, robust private investment, and workers’ ability to move out of agriculture. A range of policies could spur firm growth, including improved business climates and institutions, the removal of financial sector restrictions, and greater openness to trade and capital flows.
  • Publication
    Economic Recovery
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-06) Malpass, David; Georgieva, Kristalina; Yellen, Janet
    World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the world facing major challenges, including COVID, climate change, rising poverty and inequality and growing fragility and violence in many countries. He highlighted vaccines, working closely with Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF, the World Bank has conducted over one hundred capacity assessments, many even more before vaccines were available. The World Bank Group worked to achieve a debt service suspension initiative and increased transparency in debt contracts at developing countries. The World Bank Group is finalizing a new climate change action plan, which includes a big step up in financing, building on their record climate financing over the past two years. He noted big challenges to bring all together to achieve GRID: green, resilient, and inclusive development. Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, mentioned focusing on vulnerable people during the pandemic. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, focused on giving everyone a fair shot during a sustainable recovery. All three commented on the importance of tackling climate change.
  • Publication
    Media and Messages for Nutrition and Health
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06) Calleja, Ramon V., Jr.; Mbuya, Nkosinathi V.N.; Morimoto, Tomo; Thitsy, Sophavanh
    The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has experienced rapid and significant economic growth over the past decade. However, poor nutritional outcomes remain a concern. Rates of childhood undernutrition are particularly high in remote, rural, and upland areas. Media have the potential to play an important role in shaping health and nutrition–related behaviors and practices as well as in promoting sociocultural and economic development that might contribute to improved nutritional outcomes. This report presents the results of a media audit (MA) that was conducted to inform the development and production of mass media advocacy and communication strategies and materials with a focus on maternal and child health and nutrition that would reach the most people from the poorest communities in northern Lao PDR. Making more people aware of useful information, essential services and products and influencing them to use these effectively is the ultimate goal of mass media campaigns, and the MA measures the potential effectiveness of media efforts to reach this goal. The effectiveness of communication channels to deliver health and nutrition messages to target beneficiaries to ensure maximum reach and uptake can be viewed in terms of preferences, satisfaction, and trust. Overall, the four most accessed media channels for receiving information among communities in the study areas were village announcements, mobile phones, television, and out-of-home (OOH) media. Of the accessed media channels, the top three most preferred channels were village announcements (40 percent), television (26 percent), and mobile phones (19 percent). In terms of trust, village announcements were the most trusted source of information (64 percent), followed by mobile phones (14 percent) and television (11 percent). Hence of all the media channels, village announcements are the most preferred, have the most satisfied users, and are the most trusted source of information in study communities from four provinces in Lao PDR with some of the highest burden of childhood undernutrition.
  • Publication
    Remarks at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-12) Malpass, David
    World Bank Group President David Malpass discussed biodiversity and climate change being closely interlinked, with terrestrial and marine ecosystems serving as critically important carbon sinks. At the same time climate change acts as a direct driver of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss. The World Bank has financed biodiversity conservation around the world, including over 116 million hectares of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, 10 million hectares of Terrestrial Protected Areas, and over 300 protected habitats, biological buffer zones and reserves. The COVID pandemic, biodiversity loss, climate change are all reminders of how connected we are. The recovery from this pandemic is an opportunity to put in place more effective policies, institutions, and resources to address biodiversity loss.