World Bank: Georgia has improved public financial management
World Bank said Georgia had placed first when compared with 59 states that had “conducted their assessments based on the 2016 PEFA methodology”. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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Georgian authorities have improved the country’s public financial management systems, the World Bank said on Thursday in its 2022 Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability assessment, which compared improvements to the institution’s 2018 report.
It said Georgia had placed first when compared with 59 states that had “conducted their assessments based on the 2016 PEFA methodology”.
The 2021 Open Budget Survey, conducted by the International Budget Partnership, also ranked Georgia first amongst 120 countries in budget transparency or the Open Budget Index, the Bank noted.
The PEFA assessments were undertaken by the European Union and the World Bank at the request of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia between August-November of 2022, and covered 18 local governments across the country.
An analysis of the PEFA Municipality Synthesis Report also showed that progress had been made in:
- Transparency of public finances
- Management of assets and liabilities
- Policy-based fiscal strategy and budgeting
- Predictability and control in budget execution
- Accounting and reporting
In the first point, the report said public consultations on budgets required improvements, with other areas where progress is needed including submissions of annual financial reports for audit, scrutiny and budget reliability.
The findings said the Government’s expenditure at sub-national level was over five percent of the gross domestic product and accounted for almost a fifth of the consolidated Government expenditures in 2022.
Full assessments have been released for Tbilisi, Batumi and Martvili.
Georgia has been ranked first among 59 countries for the "continuous improvement" of performance in Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Assessment, an index compiled by the World Bank, the Ministry of Finance of Georgia announced on Wednesday.
“Tbilisi, Batumi and Martvili meet all quality standards”
Georgia’s municipality of Martvili and the cities of Tbilisi and Batumi have all successfully passed the so called “PEFA CHECK” launched by the World Bank and the European Union, which confirms that “all quality standards had been met” in these areas.
Georgia is among 20 selected countries in which the World Bank will implement its new initiative ‘Human Capital Project’ – a global effort to accelerate more and better investments in people for greater equity and economic growth.
Georgia has reached a historic high in terms of effectiveness of corruption control and governance, reveals the World Bank report ‘Worldwide Governance Indicators’.
Georgian Agriculture Minister Otar Shamugia on Thursday told the country’s Parliament the rate of agribusiness production had grown by 112 percent over the past 10 years, with a 14 percent growth marked in 2022 figures compared to the previous year.
Ensuring better quality of internal audit in Georgia’s public sector and raising awareness on relevant practices in municipalities across the country are among the objectives of a new project of the Finance Ministry, revealed on Tuesday.
The World Bank on Tuesday said Georgia had advanced “ambitious” second-generation reforms aimed at boosting private sector development and enhancing financial inclusion thanks to the institution’s €4 million Georgia Financial Inclusion and Accountability project.
Natia Turnava, the Acting President of the National Bank of Georgia, on Thursday hosted Arturo Bris, a representative of the International Institute for Management Development, an organisation that publishes the World Competitiveness Index, for a discussion on the possibility of including the country in the ranking.