Public finance stakeholders acquire programme budgeting skills

The Ministry of Finance, in its quest to continually arm its personnel with the necessary tools needed for the efficient implementation of the results-based programme budget, has gathered stakeholders for training.

Auditors and all other people involved in the management of public finances met in Yaounde yesterday October 8, 2015 to sharpen skills as they look forward to the upcoming fiscal year.

The Director of Budget in the Ministry of Finance, Samba Antoine Félix, on behalf of Finance Minister, Alamine Ousmane Mey, recalled that training personnel on programme budgeting was not new to his ministry.

Like any reform and law, there are always hitches in implementation, with the results-driven budget being an example. It took effect on January 1, 2013 on the strength of the revolutionary 2007 law instituting a new finance regime for the country.

Samba Antoine revealed that it has not been smooth, implementing the reform, with staff yet to master the Programme Budget Management Information System (PROBMIS).

Yesterday’s workshop was therefore an occasion for participants to better understand the nitty-gritty of the execution of programme budget, know stakeholders in the chain, get abreast with the rules and responsibilities of each actor, understand with the different procedures of the chain and above all, master the implementation of PROBMIS.

The Director of Budget stressed that since take off, stakeholders in various ministries meet yearly to evaluate how they fared, jointly look at where each other slipped so as to seek ways of righting the wrongs. Focus is on better tackling the 2016-2019 triennial budgets.