Public Sector Governance and Accountability Series: Budgeting and ...

396 Salvatore Schiavo-Campo
eligibility for debt relief under the HIPC initiative. (The links between
budget reform and the HIPC process are illustrated in box 12.2 for the
case of Madagascar.) 10
Advanced expenditure management systems should not be introduced
until and unless the basic building blocks of financial management are
in place, as in the approach to budget reform in Ethiopia summarized
in box 12.3.
BOX 12.2 Selected Measures in the HIPC Action Plan for
Madagascar
The list below presents selected measures in Madagascar’s HIPC action plan. Note
that most measures relate to the basics of public financial management and call
for enforcement of existing regulations rather than new regulations. Indeed,
effective pro-poor financial management reforms often consist of strengthening
the fundamental systems and enforcing the rules in a uniform manner.
Budget Coverage and Preparation
Comprehensiveness
Integrate on an informational basis semiautonomous public agencies in
the budgetary documents, and develop and implement regulations for
their fiscal reporting.
Better integrate donor-funded projects into the budget and report project
expenditures.
Classification
Include in the budgetary documents summary tables on the priority
sectors expenditures, and establish a specific coding for poverty-reducing
expenditures.
Forecasting
Improve forecasting and collection of revenue.
Process
Observe the budget preparation timetable.
Budget Execution
Arrears
Monitor utility arrears and ensure the payment of utility bills.
Take sanctions against line ministries responsible for unpaid and
unrecorded bills.