Performance budgeting The Benin Experience

Why in Benin? Good macroeconomic management Relatively good economic policies Inadequate public resource management Little progress on poverty alleviation

Objective Promote strategic, efficient and equitable use of all public resources With the goal of promoting economic growth and improving the standard of living

Basic Principles Responsibility for performance, based on agreed indicators Accountability Predictable resource flows Ex post monitoring and evaluation

Improve budget management Content Assure budget discipline Allocate according to development strategies Strengthen sector spending programs

Improve budget management Execution Unified, consolidated budget Decentralized financial management Ex post audits and controls

The program concept Set of sector activities coordinated in time and space to provide specific outcomes A budget based on results rather than on departmental ‘ needs ’

Caracteristics of a program budget Macroeconomic framework Well formulated developmental, sectoral, and sub-sectoral strategies Unified budget Multi-year perspective

The program structure Exhaustive Simple: small number of programs Comparable magnitude Taxonomy of programs: Action program Transfer program Support program

Criteria for establishing the program structure Easy to evaluate: simple objectives, measurable impact Related to strategic priorities Close to the organic structure Stable structure Denomination which makes sense

Example: Ministry of Education Primary Education Secondary Education Technical and vocational Higher education General administration

Example: Ministry of Health

Composition of a program Strategic brief Logical framework Indicators Financing table Multi-year projections of budget and indicators Monitoring and evaluation

Program indicators Impact Output Input Other indicators Outcome Efficiency Activity Infant mortality rate Miles of road maintained Classrooms constructed School attendance rate Unit cost of license Number of health care consultations

Program financing table

Monitoring and evaluation of programs Financial monitoring: appropriations, commitments, disbursements monitoring program implementation Monitoring physical outputs Monitoring indicators of impact and outcomes Program evaluation

Resource Allocation Process Initial request based on a continuation of programs Request for supplemental programs Extension of existing programs New activities New projects Allocation based on competition Intrasectoral competition Intersectoral competition

Issues in Benin Difficulty to part from dual budgeting Capacity issues: Indicators Multi-year projections Pace of reforms Access by stakeholders

Supporters, champions Ministry of Finance Ministries of education, transport, health, environment Finance Committee, national Assembly EU, AfDB, France, Denmark, Switzerland

Less supporting Ministry of Planning Project management units UNDP, USAID