Govt secures $24m AfDB grant

Source: Govt secures $24m AfDB grant | The Herald February 7, 2017

Business Reporter

Government has secured a $24 million grant from the African Development Bank for funding the Capacity Building for Public Finance and Economic Management Project (CBPFEM).Under the facility, equipment worth $3,8 million was handed over on Friday. The equipment comprises one server based in Harare and an identical server based in Bulawayo. The CBPFEM project was approved in December 2012 and came into effect in January 2013. The overall objective of the project is to improve public finance and economic management performance, contributing to macroeconomic stability and poverty reduction.

“The equipment will go a long way in enhancing Public Finance Management Reform Programme and expand the service to all district offices. These servers are part of the equipment that has been procured under the project. The other equipment that has been procured includes 1 200 desktop computers, 110 laptops, 100 printers, and Data Mining Tools, Cargo Tracking System and Data Collection Servers valued at $4,5 million,” said programme manager Naome Chimbetete in a statement availed to The Herald Business.

The equipment handed over on Friday comprises two servers based in both Harare and Bulawayo. Mrs Chimbetete said the specific objective of the project is to strengthen the capacity of Zimbabwe’s key institutions responsible for economic and public finance management reforms, monitoring and evaluation, and improved participation of the private sector in economic development.

She said this will be achieved through various capacity building efforts in revenue, debt, economic management, PFM process, planning and investment promotion, development of statistics and enhancing regional integration efforts, among others.

Beneficiary institutions under this programme include Ministry of Finance and Economic Development comprising Accountant General’s Office, Public Sector Investment Programme, and the Revenue Department; Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, Zimbabwe Debt Management Office, Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency, Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Public Finance Management System was implemented in 2000-2004 on an SAP software platform but the ability of the system to adequately support the core functions of PFM has since deteriorated while other systems have been loaded in support of Government’s e-based systems developments.

The AfDB has so far provided Government with six grants amounting to $53,4 million. Three of the grants, worth $39,9 million, are being funded from the Zimbabwe Multi-Donor Trust Fund while the remaining ones, worth $13,5 million are to be financed by the African Development Fund.

“The AfDB Group is committed to supporting the Government of Zimbabwe in its efforts to reduce poverty and to achieve equitable economic growth in the country.

“The approved resources help Government to achieve its development goals as spelled out in the Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-Economic Transformation,” she said.