Publication: Bosnia and Herzegovina : Country Financial Accountability Assessment
Date
2003-06-10
ISSN
Published
2003-06-10
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
This Country Financial Accountability
Assessment (CFAA) was prepared on the basis of the findings
of a World Bank mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2001,
and reflects developments through early 2002. The CFAA was a
constituent element of the Public Expenditure and
Institutional Review (PEIR) published in June 2002 on the
basis of work carried out in 2001-2002, and the key findings
of the CFAA on the public expenditure policy and
institutional framework form a significant part of the PEIR
section dealing with financial management in the government
sector. While some of the diagnosis presented in this CFAA
may have been overtaken by events since early 2002, most of
its recommendations remain valid and the report provides a
sound analytical framework for ongoing reforms in the field
of public expenditure management. The country is in
transition not only to a market and a post-war economy, but
also to a peculiar (and still fragile) conception of
statehood. Public administration in BiH combines pre-war,
wartime and post-war institutions, often exercising
overlapping administrative authority. The administrative
organs operating within a complex governmental structure,
the international strategy focus is on building the
institutional base of BiH's democracy and fiscal
management, using international influence to protect key
institutions during their vulnerable early phase, and bring
them to a point where they can sustain themselves after
international support is withdrawn. At the same time, the
way to Europe being the creation of a single free economic
space in BIH, harmonization and creation of common
institutions are crucial. Statehood needs to be reinforced
and specific areas need to be strengthened in the two
Entities in view of the requirements for EU accession. The
CFAA recommends support of the shift of key institutions and
processes from the Entities to the State as advocated by the
IC. Such a shift would empower State institutions with
stable and predictable budgetary resources and ensure
harmonized fiscal management and oversight. At the same
time, to mitigate concerns about over-centralization,
effective governance should be promoted at the cantonal and
municipal levels, where financial accountability is also weak.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2003. Bosnia and Herzegovina : Country Financial Accountability Assessment. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14690 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”