A new research project will be launched at the Africa Public Sector Virtual Conference, hosted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) on 15-16 May, highlighting deficiencies and pathways to stronger public service delivery.
Vital insights from a cross-continental group of public sector leaders and experts have shaped new research from ACCA, which will be launched at the third edition of the successful pan-African virtual event.
The report, titled “Public Financial Management (PFM) Performance in Africa,” notes that while PFM in Africa has evolved significantly over the last decades, the speed of reform continues to be challenged by systemic issues and deficiencies that undermine major investments from governments and development partners.
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The research identifies four priority areas of support urgently needed to improve performance, which include:
- Empowering effective coordination – including the need for key legislative and policy updates required to facilitate effective oversight, the institutionalized use of performance assessment tools, and improvement of inter-agency and inter-sector collaboration.
- Driving people development – in order to positively impact public service delivery, people need to develop a combination of specific soft, technical, and ethical skills.
- Ensuring data integrity – the report recommends an impact-focused, as opposed to an input-focused approach to digitization to ensure data integrity.
- Improving resource efficiency – increasing transparency and improving internal control and audit processes were found to be fundamental in enabling the sustainable use of resources across the public sector in Africa.
Evelyn Isioye, the Regional Lead for Policy and Insights – India & Africa at ACCA and author of the report, said, “This report not only highlights the critical factors hindering effective public finance reforms across Africa but more importantly, sets out practical interventions that need to be prioritized to enhance performance. Public financial management systems vary across sampled countries, but we see a common theme of transformative impact in improving the quality of public service delivery in the region.”
The conference is also expected to explore the developments and constraints facing public sector institutions across key areas such as the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), sustainability policies, enabling diversity, equality, and inclusion, as well as gauging readiness for public sector sustainability reporting.
Delegates will benefit from the expertise of leaders, researchers, academics, and policy shapers in the public sector around sustainable governance, effective domestic resource mobilization, and the exploits of the ongoing public finance management reform agenda in Africa.
There will also be panel discussions and expert presentations; key speakers include Hon. Felix Mutati, Minister for Technology and Science, Zambia; Vonani Chauke, Deputy Auditor General, South Africa; and Sunil Ramdeen, Accountant General, Mauritius.
ACCA Director for Africa Jamil Ampomah said, “We believe that the accountancy profession plays a pivotal role in building strong public financial management systems and achieving sustainable reform objectives. By building capacity and fostering collaboration between the public sector and relevant key stakeholders, we look to enable strong institutions and systems to optimize public sector delivery.”
