DUSHANBE, September 27, Asia-Plus — A two-day workshop on “Performance-Based Budgeting and Medium-Term Expenditure Framework” for high-level government officials and key donor agencies was held in Khujand, the capital of the Sughd province, on September 18-19. 

The workshop was funded from the Japanese Government by the Programmatic Human Resources Development (PHRD) grant managed by Mr. Migara De Silva, Senior Economist at the World Bank Institute (WBI) and co-organizer of the event.

According to the World Bank Dushanbe Office, the event was organized by the World Bank and World Bank Institute (WBI) in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, where nearly 50 participants attended the two-day event including high-level government officials from the Executive Office of the President, Ministry of Finance, key line ministries, Institute for Higher Qualifications of Civil Servants, local budget units and finance departments, and international donor agencies.

The objectives of the two-day workshop were to discuss the first year experience of MTEF implementation in Tajikistan, refine and strengthen commitment of senior government officials to the MTEF implementation process and share experiences from other ECA countries. The case studies and presentations made by international experts from Armenia, Georgia, Slovakia, and Latvia provided general lessons, best practices in performance-based budgeting and prioritization, as well as insights into linking macro framework with strategic sector priorities and overcoming institutional challenges in implementing MTEFs.

Tajik government’s first year of MTEF implementation showed significant progress and clear institutional and legal challenges, which need to be fully addressed in the next budget cycle. Adoption and dissemination of the first MTEF document for 2008-10 by the Ministry of Finance with the support of international expertise also brings about the basis for development of the next comprehensive three-year macro framework and established link between sector-specific priorities and aggregate expenditures with breakdown by functional classification, republican and local budgets, and types of funding.  Mr. Nematjon Buriyev, Senior Economic Advisor to the Tajik President, confirmed government’s commitment in implementation of the MTEF and continuing the pilot in the education sector as outlined in the first three-year document.

Dilya Zoirova, Public Information Assistant, World Bank Country Office in Dushanbe, said that the workshop allowed participants to also share their views on different MTEF implementation models, costing and budgeting exercises and, most importantly, to agree on following steps for the next MTEF cycle. These agreements included the elaboration and approval of amendments to the Law on Public Finances and annual Law on State Budget, joint capacity building activities in the pilot education sector, and further synchronization and coordination of related institutional activities between all stakeholders.

The representatives from the World Bank, European Commission, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and UK Department for International Development (DFID) reinstated their pledges for continuing the provision of technical and financial assistance for the second year implementation of the MTEF in the Republic of Tajikistan.