According to our beneficiary institutions in Moldova (e.g. CALM): Slovakia is a very good partner for Moldova because of its pioneer position within the donor community – supporting local authorities. Watch the video with the testimonies from ‘Public Finance for Development’ Programme partners – Moldovan representatives.
Alexandru Osadci from Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM) said it very precisely: “Slovakia was a very good partner for us. It was a pioneer in the donor community because it supported local authorities. Emphasis was placed on a bottom up approach with input from the community that in turn helps to develop effective tax and other policies. Reform opens up investment possibilities such as co-funding. This means we can have competition between local governments to attract business to the regions.”
One of the key contributions the Public Finance for Development Programme made for the beneficiary country – Moldova was support provided to implement Programme Based Budgeting (PBB).
Slovak Consultant (the adviser to the Slovak Minister of Finance during reform period) Juraj Renčko said that It is about linking the policy and the budget people. It is about communication, human resources and processes. Transparency decreases fraud. The old system was short-term based (No one cared what was delivered). The new system is about the medium term that links the strategy with the budget. He also said: “Programme Based Budgeting shows what you receive for your money using indicators. If you want to really implement this you need to teach people in country, because Projects will expire and consultants will disappear. So people in the country need to continue the process.”
Training is also very important component of the Public Finance for Development Programme. Emphasis is placed on training of trainers to ensure the outcome delivers sustainable capacity to partner institutions and their staff. Local trainers need coaching in addition to on-the-job support.
Aurelia Porumbescu from Public Budget Division of Ministry of Finance in Moldova declares: “Since this country is oriented towards providing local autonomy to its regions, this type of budgeting will help local authorities to set priorities and budget. That in turn translates into providing better services to our citizens.” They are now replicating what they have learned and they have trained 890 individuals around Moldova.
Watch the video with the testimonies from ‘Public Finance for Development’ programme partners – Moldovan representatives or read our attached Press release (in English).