Achievements of MFSI
09 April 2010
Achievements of MFSI/IBSER Project Included as Reform Priorities for Regional Economic Development Approved by Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine V.M. Tikhonov on 1 April 2010
Iryna Shcherbyna, IBSER Director General, has been included in a working subgroup “Reform of Interbudgetary Relations”, which is part of the Regional Economic Development Working Group established recently at the Committee for Economic Reform under the President of Ukraine and tasked with preparing a draft concept of economic reforms (by subject area).
The meeting of the newly established group at the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on 9 April 2010, chaired by Yevhen Kuz'kin, Deputy Minister of Finance, was devoted to discussing the priorities of reforms in the area of Regional Economic Development, as approved by V.M.Tikhonov, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Head of the Regional Economic Development group of the Committee for Economic Reform under the President of Ukraine on 1 April 2010.
It is significant that these priorities are based on the IBSER achievements and proposals developed and prepared in the course of implementation of the Municipal Finance Strengthening Initiative project supported by USAID. In particular, these include:
- Improving the investment attractiveness of local budgets.
Expanding the development budget revenues and their uses are chosen as the tool for implementation of this priority. The qualitative and quantitative changes will be judged by the criteria of transformation of the development budget of local budgets into an instrument of socioeconomic growth of the regions.
- Using the Performance Program Budgeting at the level of local budgets.
Drafting and approving the documents, which regulate the PPB introduction and application at the level of local budgets has been identified as the tool for implementation of this priority. The transition to the formulation and execution of local budgets based on Performance Program Budgeting will be the criterion of qualitative changes.
- Implementation of medium-term planning.
The implementation tool is improving the methodology of medium-term budget planning by means of introducing medium-term budget ceilings.
The change criteria will include implementation of medium-term regional development programs, as well as coordinating the local budget programs with medium-term planning.
In fact, the above priorities are the main areas in which IBSER has been actively and consistently working as part of implementation of Municipal Finance Strengthening Initiative project component aimed at introducing the Performance Program Budgeting methods of budget formulation and execution in four pilot regions.
Later IBSER/MFSI project experts have prepared and submitted their recommendations/proposals to the draft of the “Concept of Interbudgetary Relations’ Reform”, which in the case of approval will promote the implementation of the Municipal Finance Strengthening Initiative project’s goals and tasks aimed to.
- increase the fiscal autonomy of the regions;
- enhance the creditworthiness of local budgets.
Glyanec