The PEFA Secretariat was in Kuwait City, Kuwait, May 19-21, 2024, for the “Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA)++ Training Workshop in MENA” co-organized with the World Bank MENA Governance Global Practice team and hosted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Center for Economics and Finance (CEF) in Kuwait. In attendance were 32 officials including representatives of Ministries of Finance and Supreme Audit Institutions from 12 countries in the region (including Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and West Bank and Gaza) with 44% female participation. The workshop aimed at explaining the PEFA++ Framework as a tool for providing a comprehensive diagnostic of the performance of the PFM institutions, systems, and processes at the central and subnational levels in addition to its responsiveness to gender and climate.
The workshop was launched by Ziad Nakat, Resident Representative, World Bank Office in Kuwait and Qatar, Moez Souissi, CEF Deputy Director, and Winston Cole, Lead Financial Management Specialist, World Bank where they welcomed all participants, officials, and the PEFA Secretariat members attending the workshop. Reiterating CEF’s commitment to continue working with MENA countries and facilitate experience and knowledge sharing, Souissi said: “I would like to congratulate you on your acceptance to this important course on PEFA. I am sure that at the end of this course you will gain the necessary skills to conduct PEFA Assessments and support public financial management reforms in your countries.” Welcoming the participants, Nakat added: “We are happy to collaborate with the CEF, the World Bank Governance Global team in MENA, and the PEFA Secretariat on launching here in Kuwait the first PEFA Arabic training. It marks a significant step towards enhancing the capacity of governments in the MENA region to manage public finances effectively, thereby fostering economic growth, reducing poverty, and improving service delivery for all citizens”.
In his presentation of the PFM cycle, Cole emphasized the transformational role of the PEFA framework as a tool to move: “ ‘From Analysis to Action’ as the participants, on their return are expected to be 'PEFA Champions' to stimulate interest to undertake PEFA Assessment in their countries and use the report to drill-down and formulate a PFM Reform Action (PFM-RAP).”
PEFA++ Training
The first day, following the introduction of the training program, the presenters Mona El-Chami, Senior Governance Specialist, PEFA Secretariat, and Sofiane Fakhfakh, PFM and PEFA Expert from the PEFA Secretariat (i) presented the PEFA Program, and (ii) took a deep dive into the PEFA 2016 Framework, discussing in detail all 31 indicators and 94 dimensions. During the following days, there was great interest in the material presented, specifically in the application of the Guidance for Subnational PEFA Assessments and AgilePEFA as well as the PEFA Gender (GRPFM) and PEFA Climate (CRPFM) supplementary frameworks. There was a lot of attention and interest regarding the PEFA process, PEFA check, and PEFA report.
Valuable questions, discussions and suggestions were shared throughout the entirety of the training.
El-Chami confirmed: “The PEFA Framework is the globally acceptable ‘gold standard’ that covers the entire PFM cycle. Based on demand, this is the first time that the PEFA++ is delivered in Arabic by the PEFA Secretariat. We continue our efforts to share and promote knowledge and good practices in different regions of the world.” Fakhfakh continued: "Adopting PEFA standards means investing in transparency and financial accountability. Through specialized training, we are building the capacity of professionals to manage public finances effectively, thereby stimulating sustainable development and public confidence."
Feedback from participants:
“My country was a pioneer in utilizing the PEFA Framework at the central level, subnational level, AgilePEFA, in addition to testing PEFA Gender. This workshop gave me the opportunity to exchange views, experiences, learn from other countries, and be ready for the next PEFA adventure...” says Selma Chaouch, Ministry of Finance, Tunisia.
“I did not know much about PEFA when I joined the training, now I have the needed knowledge to start a dialogue on assessing PFM systems in my country…”
“Learning PEFA in Arabic is great and provides a much better understanding…”
“Content is very adequate and the trainers’ energy is very high...”
“I liked the interactive approaches and the open discussions…”
“The information about good practices and the detailed description of each indicator will be very useful in implementing the PEFA Assessment…”
Awarding Certificates
At the conclusion of the PEFA++ Training in Kuwait certificates were awarded as a token of appreciation for the participants’ active involvement in the event.
PEFA trainers shared:
“Those were three intense and inspiring days in Kuwait! The participants were so interested in the PEFA Frameworks and eager to learn the ins and outs of using them. Those whose countries had done PEFA Assessments, were excited to share the challenges, the lessons learned, and the next steps that followed regarding PFM improvement. Those countries who have not yet participated, were eager to learn more, especially on the types of assessments and processes to be able to raise awareness of it when they return home. We have learned a lot from the vibrant discussions and look forward to the participants’ motivation to enhance their countries’ PFM systems. Mona El-Chami and Sofiane Fakhfakh.
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Please find here this Story in Arabic:
