ADB: Capacity to deliver vital

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) says that a “mismatch” between the country’s allocation and execution is resulting in a costly borrowing.
The bank noted in its Pacific Economic Monitor Report launched yesterday that budget formulation needed to take into account capacity to deliver results and outcomes rather than focusing on allocations across sectors and programmes.
Budgets should move towards allocations based on performance and objective indicators of execution and greater reporting of expenditures. These were recommended to improve expenditure effectiveness.
Country economist with ADB PNG resident mission Yurendra Basnett said: “There needs to be some performance criteria in the overall budget planning.
“The budget should move towards allocation based on performance and objectives of execution and greater reporting of expenditure,” he said.
“There needs to be a learning feedback on what works and what doesn’t to give a fair reflection of next year’s budget – and that is how efficiency and effectiveness is gained.
“If there is an allocation and we do not know how those funds were utilised or what outlooks were achieved, next year we will not know whether it is there – so there needs to be that constant monitoring so it is feeding into the budget process,” Basnett said.