Nairobi to Host Public Financial Management Harmonisation Workshop

{{A five-day Stakeholders’ workshop on the harmonization and coordination of public financial management standards in line with the EAC Monetary Union Protocol is underway in Nairobi, Kenya.}}

On 4 November 2013, a two-year EAC-World Bank Public Financial Management Coordination and Harmonization Project in the Partner States was launched at the EAC Headquarters by the Deputy Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC) in charge of Planning and Infrastructure Dr. Enos Bukuku.

At the launch, Dr. Enos Bukuku disclosed that the World Bank had committed United States Dollars One million to support public financial management coordination and harmonisation in the Partner States.

He said transparent public financial management was a critical facet for a robust fiscal regime which was vital for the implementation of the Monetary Union, the third Pillar of EAC integration process.

The Nairobi event is the first Stakeholders workshop, in a series of workshops, to be held for EAC Partner States officials on harmonization and coordination of public financial management standards in line with the EAC Monetary Union Protocol.

Benefits of Public Financial Management Coordination and Harmonisation Project in EAC

In November 2013, the EAC Partner States signed the East African Monetary Union Protocol in Kampala, Uganda. For the East African Community to boast of an effective and fully functional Monetary Union, an operational, robust fiscal regime should be in place.

The EAC-World Bank Public Financial Management Coordination and Harmonisation Project intends to support the development of such a robust regional fiscal environment and will among others, contribute towards the attainment of the following benefits:

the development of an EAC Regional Procurement Legislation to Support Regional Programs;

the harmonisation towards International Public-Sector Accounting and Auditing Standards for the Management and Oversight of Regional Initiatives;

the harmonisation of EAC Public Budgeting and Reporting Frameworks for credibility, comprehensiveness, transparency and Policy-Based Public Financial Management;

the promotion of EAC Regional Mutual Recognition Agreements amongst the EAC Partner States Accountancy bodies to facilitate mobility of Finance professionals through the harmonization of the accountancy profession’s syllabus;

the coordination of the EAC Regional Oversight role of the Partner States Parliamentary Public Accounts Committees in collaboration with the East African Association of Public Accounts Committees to develop good practice guidelines and standards that will harmonize how the Committees oversee the utilization of public funds to achieve value for money;

the coordination and strengthening of financial reporting amongst the media and promoting the use of civil society as key players in the monitoring of service delivery, working closely with the Governments of the Partner States.

The Project Coordinator/Senior Accountant at the EAC Secretariat Mr. Godfrey Magadu is affirmative that implementation of the project will be done by EAC Secretariat bringing together key stakeholders in the Partner States to agree on harmonized standards then later on provision of technical support to implement the agreed standard.

EAC