Kathmandu, August 24

Nepal government and the World Bank signed a financing agreement for $15 million, equivalent to approximately Rs 1.64 billion here today for strengthening the country’s public financial management (PFM).

The agreement was signed by Joint Secretary of International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division Shreekrishna Nepal and World Bank Country Manager for Nepal Faris H Hadad-Zervos in the presence of senior government officials, World Bank officials and development partners of Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MTDF), as per a media release.

The Integrated PFM Reform Project is financed through a World Bank-administered MDTF established in 2010 and currently funded by European Union, UK Department for International Development, Swiss government, Norwegian government, Australian government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and United States Agency for International Development.

The project supports the priorities of the government as expressed in the National PFM Reform Plan (2016-17 to 2025-26) and aims to strengthen the effectiveness of selected PFM and procurement institutions, systems and procedures at the federal and sub-national levels.  Accordingly, the projects expects tangible results, including improved aggregate capital budget out-turns at the federal level; comprehensive accounting and reporting procedures in place in federal and sub-national governments; improved audit planning and quality management for audit of federal and sub-national entities; and improved timeliness of contract award in selected key sector agencies.

The project is organised around four complementary components with a multitude of linkages: strengthening public expenditure and revenue management in federal and local governments; strengthening the Office of the Auditor General; public procurement improvement; and PFM reform management and coordination.