Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Government Effectiveness Project

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The objective of the Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Government Effectiveness Project for Burundi is to strengthen government institutional capacity to improve fiscal management. This objective will be achieved by supporting government efforts to mobilize domestic revenue, improve public expenditure management and controls, produce timely statistics for policy making, and improve mining sector regulatory capacity and practices. The project is organized in four components. Component 1, modernizing revenue policy and administration, will address weaknesses in tax policy. The main objectives of this component include: (i) stabilize tax policy by promoting a medium term tax policy strategy consistent with the Government development objectives set in the poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP); (ii) build capacity to assess ex-ante the impact of tax policies; and (iii) build monitoring capacity and improve communication on tax policy measures with other key stakeholders, in particular the private sector. Other parts of component one include: support to macroeconomic modelling and improvement of revenue collection practices from the mining sector. Component 2, strengthening public expenditure management and control, aims to provide strategic and technical support to the Public Finance Reform Implementation Unit to implement the priority public finance reforms, support the roll-out of the new Integrated Financial Management Information System Institut de Statistiques et d’Etudes Economiques du Burundi (IFMIS) software with targeted training, linked to measurable results, and establishing the building blocks for the implementation of a program-based budget. Component 3, improving ISTEEBU’s institutional capacity will: (i) establish a robust framework and action plan for statistical capacity building by supporting the design of the new National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) strategy in collaboration with other partners such as the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21); and (ii) provide technical assistance to develop, implement, and monitor a business plan of annual activities. Specifically, the project will support ISTEEBU to strengthen the capacity of the department in charge of this exercise, as well as its monitoring and evaluation. Finally component 4, support organizational reforms at the Ministry of Energy and Mining will support a functional review and re-organization of Ministère de l’Energie et des Mines (MEM’s) selected departments to better align its institutional structure to the new regulatory framework and policies defined in the 2013 Mining Code.