This presentation was made by Ronnie Downes, OECD, at the 12th Annual Meeting of OECD-Asian Senior Budget Officials held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 15-16 December 2016

1. Budgeting for a Sustainable Future:
Towards a Roadmap of
Budgetary Governance Reform in Timor-Leste
Ronnie Downes
Deputy Head, Budgeting and Public Expenditures
OECD
Asia Senior Budget Officials
Bangkok, 15-16 December 2016

2. Country Context
• 2002 constitution
• Huge state-building
achievements and
challenges
• Petroleum Fund –
sustainability issues
• Strategic Development
Plan 2011-2030
• Budget Reform a
central pillar

3. Progress to date
• PFM framework in place:
covers basics well,
but in need of modernisation
• Programme Budgeting – linking plans to resources
– Essential to implement SDP
– What complementary budget reforms are needed?
• Now seeking international guidance on designing a
multi-year reform agenda or “Roadmap”

4. Budgeting
within fiscal
objectives
OECD Framework of Modern Budgeting
Quality,
integrity &
independent
audit
Performance,
Evaluation &
VFM
Comprehensive
budget
accounting
Effective
budget
execution
Alignment with
medium-term
strategic plans
and priorities
Performance,
evaluation &
VFM
Transparency,
openness &
accessibility
Participative,
Inclusive
& Realistic
Debate
Fiscal Risks &
Sustainability
Capital
budgeting
framework

5. Principles guiding OECD approach
• RESPECT for country-specific circumstances
• AMBITION
• MODERNISATION
• SOLID FOUNDATIONS
• TRUST AND CONFIDENCE
• COMMUNICATION

6. OECD Draft Roadmap: Three Parallel Lanes
• CORE REFORM PRIORITIES
• SUPPORTING BUDGETARY GOVERNANCE
REFORMS
• BROADER PUBLIC GOVERNANCE AGENDA

7. 1. Core Reform Priorities
• Making a success of Programme Budgeting
– Broadening and deepening
– “Programme” concept becomes central focus of debate,
discussion , planning and re-prioritisation…
… and (in time) appropriation
• Medium-term expenditure and planning
– Step-by-step approach: forecasting; overall expenditure
envelopes; programme ceilings
– Planning: Filling “gap” between annual and longer-term
strategic goals
• Update and modernise the legal / PFM Framework

8. 2. Supporting Budgetary Governance Reforms
• Over-arching principle of Budget Transparency
– e.g. Citizen’s Budget and concise “Policy Summary” of budget
• Clearer “fiscal constraint” in budget process
– e.g. a supplementary “expenditure growth rule”?
• Consolidate and enhance annual budget processes
– e.g. centralised, simplified “Public Financial Procedures”
– Internal control / audit functions
• Efficiency review / Expenditure review
– Link to Monitoring & Evaluation processes
• Sound Infrastructure Governance
– e.g. integrated into annual budget (within MTEF)
– e.g. transparent, professional appraisals

9. 3. Broader Public Governance agenda
• Public management, leadership, accountability
– Essential for programme budgeting to be successful
• Structure of government review
– Including service delivery models
• Take stock of progress on procurement reform
– e.g. international comparisons / peer review
• Move to best practice on open data and statistics
– e.g. important for SDGs and gender budgeting
• Communication of benefits to the public
– Clear Key National Indicators
– Possible role for SDGs

10. Lessons and advice from peer countries in Asia?
• What is the proper sequencing of these inter-connected
reforms? Which are most important, in your experience?
• What is the proper balance of “realism” with “ambition”?
• How to ensure “buy-in” from all institutions of
government? - and from other stakeholders?
• How best to communicate the benefits of budgetary
reform?