The Technical Working Group on the Intergovernmental Financing Arrangement Review is now preparing to undertake the National Agency consultations on the Intergovernmental Financing Arrangement Review.
The TWG is comprised of 13 key agencies that are part of the Provincial Local Level Services Monitoring Authority sub-committee on IGFAR led by the National Economic and Fiscal Commission and the Department of Treasury as the Chair and Co-Chair.
The team completed consultations for the subnational governments on the Intergovernmental Financing Arrangement Review last year and is now looking forward to the next phase of consultations which is with the National Agencies.
According to NEFC, the Technical Working Group was first established in 2022 and the purpose of the TWG is to undertake the technical works surrounding the systems and processes of the Intergovernmental Financing Arrangements System.
In leading up to the main consultations with the National Agencies to be undertaken this year, a workshop is being conducted for the TWG to plan how the National Agency Consultations can be undertaken.
This is the third workshop conducted by the Technical Working Group.
National Economic and Fiscal Commission Chairman/CEO Patrick Kennedy Painap who is also the Chairman of the PLLSMA Sub-Committee on IGFAR when officiating the opening of the workshop commended the Technical Working Group for its continuous effort in undertaking the technical works surrounding the review of Intergovernmental Financing Arrangement which has resulted in tabling of the preliminary report on the sub-national consultation findings and recommendations.
Meantime, the Acting Director of PM & NEC, Mr. Chris Banga who is also a member of the TWG commended NEFC for leading the review exercise adding that the review is very important as it paves the way for a revised Intergovernmental Relations (Functions and Funding) Act and also aligns government priorities to funding arrangements.
According to NEFC, the consultation plan is to gather insights, perspectives, and feedback from national agencies regarding the Intergovernmental Financing Arrangement Review (IGFAR).
The main aim is to ensure that the findings from the sub-national consultations are comprehensively addressed within respective agencies.
According to NEFC, the review is interconnected with the government’s bigger decentralization policy focusing on the critical aspect of fiscal decentralization.
The TWG Workshop began on Thursday 11th April 2024 and ended on Friday 12th April 2024.