September 20th, 2021 – Today, the Sector Working Group on Public Finance Management held a video-conference meeting.
In his introductory address, Fatmir Besimi, finance minister and chair of this sector group, provided a brief overview of achievements in the public finance sector, followed by presentation of the draft report on semi-annual implementation of the Action Plan to the Public Finance Management Reform Programme by representatives from state institutions involved in programme implementation, covering the period January to June 2021.
In the second part, representatives from observers in the sector working group, i.e. from the donor community and civil society organizations, discussed several important issues related to implementation of the public finance management reform. They underlined the need for information on the course of activities in respect to adoption of the Law on Budgets by the Parliament of RNM, as a crucial piece of legislation in this sphere that is pending adoption by MPs for more than six months. Moreover, a request was made for this sector group to discuss all documents prior to their adoption, including distribution of such documents to all SWG members prior to their adoption in order to ensure adequate contribution from the civil society.
Finally, representatives from the Ministry of Finance shared information on the course and progress in development of the new Public Finance Management Reform Programme for the period 2022-2025. In general, it was noted that this programme will have a greater focus on implementation of a series of public policy documents adopted in the previous period and as part of the current programme.