The webinar PFM Systems at Subnational Levels: PEFA lens was organized by PEFA Secretariat on March 25th, 2021 to present the increasing use of the PEFA framework at the subnational level, to highlight some of the key features of the revised guidance for the subnational governments (SNG) PEFA assessments, and to share the experiences of countries using PEFA at the SNG level to support PFM improvement and promoting benchmarking amongst SNGs in a country.
The event was chaired by Eric Deschoenmaeker, Directorate General for International Partnerships, European Commission, who opened the session underlying the importance of the PEFA measurement framework that “has grown from a PFM diagnostic tool used by a limited group of donors into a gold standard catalyst that can assist in PFM reform formulation and monitoring”. PEFA “was initially focused on Central Governments and has increasingly been used to assess sub-national governments PFM performance.” He also underlined that “The increase in the use of PEFA by EU, OECD or G20 countries is important because it conveys the important message that PEFA framework is robust and relevant to any government irrespective of the level of development that needs to improve its PFM system”. The panel discussion was moderated by Adenike Sherifat Oyeyiola (Practice Manager, EPSPF, World Bank), who facilitated the event, presented the speakers and lead the discussions.
More than 300 experts around the world attended the event. The video recording and the presentations are now available:
Access Webinar Video Recording
The event started with a presentation from the PEFA experts - Guillaume Brulé and Julia Dhimitri, who introduced PFM and PEFA context at the SNG level, the revised guidance for SNG PEFA Assessment, current pilots, and the next steps.
New Approaches to SNG PEFAs, Guillaume Brulé, Julia Dhimitri, PEFA Secretariat
Min Zhao, Senior Economist, WB shared “The experience of the first ever 8 PEFA assessments conducted in Hunan province, in China”. The presentation highlighted :
- The new approach in the management of the assessments by training and using the academia;
- The ownership and leadership role played by the government of China throughout the assessment process;
- How the PEFA findings contributed to designing the Program-for-Results (PforR) World Bank project as well as developing the PFM reforms in the assessed governments and the next steps.
Subnational PEFA assessment, China, Min Zhao, Senior Economist, WB
Luz María Meyer, Senior Financial Management Specialist, WB, presented “The experience of the PEFA assessment for San Juan Province, Argentina”. The presentation highlighted:
- The fact that despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 health crisis, PEFA assessments can be conducted successfully virtually. She also explained that the PEFA assessment for San Juan province was one of the first SNG PEFA assessments using the new revised guidance;
- Key findings from the assessment will be used as an entry point for broader policy dialogue with the government.
The experience of the PEFA assessment for San Juan Province Argentina, Luz María Meyer, Senior Financial Management Specialist, WB
Mary Matjeke, Director of Provincial Budget Analysis, Intergovernmental Relations Division, National Treasury, South Africa (SA), shared the experience of the national SA Treasury in using PEFA for the provinces. The presentation highlighted:
- How PEFA findings from the first PEFA SNG Assessments conducted in 2014-2015 were used for developing PFM reform program as well as monitoring and evaluation;
- The next steps in initiating the set of PEFA assessments in 2021, to be conducted as self-assessments by the National Treasury;
The experience of the national SA Treasury in using PEFAs, Mary Matjeke, Director, National Treasury
The last presentation covered some insight from Serdar Yilmaz, Global Lead, Subnational Governance, WB on:
- The role of PEFAs at SNG level;
- PEFA and SNG Management Capacity;
- How to use PEFAs in designing projects and developing PFM reform programs.
Serdar Yilmaz, Global Lead, Subnational Governance, WB
The presentations were followed by questions from participants, that led to interesting discussion that is summarized and available here.
For questions and information contact PEFA Secretariat at: services@pefa.org
