The public finance management system of the Dominican State has 24 of 31 indicators that comply with good international practices. This was revealed by the most recent evaluation of Public Expenditure and Accountability 2022 (PEFA, in English), technically and financially sponsored by the European Union.
The report, which covered the 2021, 2020 and 2019 budget years, establishes that 14 indicators are at the level of best practices, 12 improved their performance, while 14 maintained the same level with respect to the measurement, carried out in 2016.
The evaluation, the sixth carried out in the country since 2007, included in this version, for the first time, the PEFA Gender component, the results of which will be taken as a baseline to prepare and draw up budgetary policies in support of the issue, which is a priority for this Government .
The Minister of Finance, Jochi Vicente, leading the presentation of the results, in which the Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, Pável Isa, also participated, highlighted that the country has 21 indicators above the world average and 22 with with respect to Latin America and the Caribbean.
He pointed out that these advances have been possible thanks to the fact that the current administration has maintained and strengthened the representative indicators of the pillars and dimensions that make up the renowned tool.
“Transparency, predictability and control of budget execution and an adequate fiscal strategy and budgeting based on policies are the pillars with the best performance; This satisfies us and shows the commitment assumed by the entire team that manages the system”.
The document highlights the high performance achieved in the “Transparency of public finances” pillar, with the best rating obtained (B+), a result driven mainly by public access to tax information, the expansion of the coverage of the Information System of the Financial Management (Sigef) and Account
Unique Treasury (CUT), as well as the improvement in the documentation that accompanies the budget project.
The “Predictability and control of budget execution” pillar shows important strengths, such as the advances in revenue administration, increasing the centralization of these through the National Treasury, the contracting and procurement system, and execution controls. of spending, accompanied by an improvement in payment processes.
The European Union
The European Union ambassador to the country, Katja Afheldt, recognized that the Dominican government shows a strong commitment to prudent financial management, through important reforms, such as the fight against corruption as a key to improving transparency. of public spending. “Strengthening the control of spending management is necessary for accountability and to fulfill the duty of a government to explain to the public how public funds have been spent,” she said.
“On the other hand, gender equality must be integrated into the public finance system, so that gender equality and equity policies are effective,” he added.