Budgetary Reforms in Transition Countries: the role of capacity building Study for OECD Conference, November 2004 John Zevenbergen

Main conclusions of report 1.Role of capacity building in budgetary reform 2.Organization of capacity building

3 Role of capacity building To instill aggregate budget discipline –strengthening macroeconomic forecasting To achieve allocative efficiency: strategic prioritization and reallocation of expenditures –development of MTEF To improve operational efficiency: performance of the public sector –introduction of program budgeting

4 Organization of capacity building Commitment and leadership from the top management –MoF as the key agent of change –Legitimacy for budgetary reform at the political level Capacity building at the organizational level –Organizational structure and possible need for reorganization –Culture of organizations –Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) Capacity building at the individual level (HRM) –Recruitment of well-qualified staff –Retention of staff –Training in public finance management