The World Bank has advanced Kenya Kshs 38.5 billion ($250 million) that will be spent on strengthening transparency in public finance management and enhance revenue mobilization.
In a statement, the World Bank says the cash will be spent on programs meant to help reduce the Value Added Tax compliance gap, improve predictability and controls in budget execution, ensure that priority government programs and projects are implemented with clear performance monitoring frameworks, and that external audit recommendations are implemented and monitored in publicly available reports.
It will also support Kenya’s ambition to become a regional leader in green growth by leveraging public investment and procurement spending to promote climate considerations.
The World Bank says the cash is for the Second Strengthening Governance for Enabling Service Delivery and Public Investment (GESDeK II) Program for Results (PforR) meant to enhance revenue mobilization, strengthen accountability and transparency in public finance management, improve coordination of priority programs, and promote external audit and oversight at the national government level.
“The Government of Kenya needs higher revenue mobilization to operationalize its development agenda, while efficiency in spending will be necessary for the revenue that is mobilized to deliver its intended purpose.
“This new program will incentivize the last mile of a decade of public financial management reforms in Kenya, including their full rollout across national government ministries, departments, and agencies,” said Keith Hansen, World Bank Country Director for Kenya.
The new program builds on achievements under the first GESDeK program, which include an electronic government procurement system, an automated cash management system, a public investment management framework, an information management system facilitating financial management in State Corporations, and a reengineered eCitizen portal that enables citizens and businesses to conduct and pay for 600+ types of transactions with the public sector online.
“GESDeK II will support the improvement and institutionalization of these systems across the national government and also introduce new areas of engagement.
“These include improving revenue administration systems, investing in government coordination and performance management mechanisms to improve the implementation of priority programs and projects, and incentivizing the implementation of external audit recommendations issued by Parliament,” said Onur Erdem, Senior Public Sector Specialist and the Project Task Team Leader.
Ultimately, GESDeK II will contribute to the Government of Kenya’s goal to transition to a more efficient public sector that enables private sector driven economic growth.
GESDeK II is aligned with the objective of World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework for Kenya (FY23-28) to boost Kenya’s fiscal sustainability and improve public expenditure transparency and effectiveness.