High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Reports
The High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Report series provides high-level summaries of the assistance provided to IMF capacity development recipients, describing the high-level objectives, findings, and recommendations.
2024
May 31, 2024
Islamic Republic of Mauritania: Climate Mitigation Policy Diagnostic
Description: Mauritania requested capacity development from the Fiscal Affairs Department on carbon taxation, fossil fuel pricing and fiscal aspects of hydrogen development. This is a high-level summary of the technical assistant and the recommendations provided to the authorities. The report assesses options to gradually introduce a carbon tax to bring the country in line with its Nationally Determined Contribution for 2030 and net-zero pledge for 2050, including targeted support for vulnerable households. It then reviews approach to price fossil fuel products and proposes a revised methodology better aligned with international petroleum markets, along with a fiscally neutral smoothing mechanism to mitigate the impact of abrupt price changes on Mauritanian consumers. Finally, the report evaluates fiscal aspects related to the development of the low and zero-emissions hydrogen to ensure the country continues to position itself as an attractive investment destination without foregoing future revenue streams.
May 22, 2024
Papua New Guinea: Government Finance and Public Sector Debt Statistics Mission (August 2 – 15, 2023)
Description: The International Monetary Fund’s mission to Papua New Guinea sought to revitalize the development of fiscal and debt statistics following a period of disruption caused by a ransomware attack, Covid-19, and high staff turnover. To that end, the mission provided a combination of formal training and technical assistance on the priority development areas, notably on the resolution of the general data quality issues, the expansion of the statistical coverage to the provincial tier of government, and the compilation of debt statistics for the state-owned enterprises.
May 20, 2024
Jordan: Climate Module of the Public Investment Management Assessment and Green Public Financial Management
Description: The assistance assessed how climate change impacts and mitigation and adaptation responses are addressed in the public investment cycle using the Climate Module of the Public Investment Management Assessment (C-PIMA). The assistance also evaluated the scope to advance Green Public Financial Management (PFM) practices, drawing on the IMF’s new Green PFM framework. Jordan was found to performs well in the climate-aware planning and coordination institutions of the C-PIMA, but some gaps were identified in implementation aspects of the framework, and there were several areas where climate could be better integrated in the PFM system.
May 10, 2024
Barbados
Description: The technical assistance is focused on enhancing the joint financial stability report of the Central Bank of Barbados and the Barbados Financial Services Commission. The mission concluded that the preparation of a detailed FSR production plan and communication strategy is of critical importance and could facilitate improvements and promote the report. The report should encompass all crucial elements of financial stability assessment and needs to be streamlined to follow the central storyline with key messages. The quality of the report could be further enhanced though advancements in the analytical toolkit employed and the utilization of all available data sources.
May 8, 2024
South Africa: Fiscal Transparency Evaluation
Description: South Africa has many elements of sound fiscal transparency practices. Based on an assessment of fiscal transparency practices against the IMF’s Fiscal Transparency Code, South Africa’s practices are strongest in fiscal reporting, followed by fiscal forecasting and budgeting, and weakest in fiscal risk analysis. South Africa’s Balance Sheet public sector net worth – including assumptions for the values of non-reported assets – is estimated to be 100 percent of GDP. There is room to improve South Africa’s fiscal reporting, budget transparency, and management of fiscal risks.
May 3, 2024
Kingdom of Eswatini: Financial Sector Stability Review
Description: The IMF conducted a diagnostic review of the financial system of the Kingdom of Eswatini and proposed a Technical Assistance Roadmap to support the authorities’ detection of risks and vulnerabilities and to enhance capacity in financial sector oversight. The financial stability module focused on areas agreed with the country authorities: financial stability and systemic risk monitoring, macroprudential frameworks and tools; crisis management and financial safety net; and supervision and regulation of banks, nonbank deposit-taking institutions, insurance, and retirement funds. The financial sector statistics module focused on key gaps in monetary and financial statistics and financial soundness indicators that hamper financial stability analysis.
May 1, 2024
Guinea Bissau: Further Improvements in Tax Compliance
Description: This summary provides an overview of the guidance provided to the Guinea-Bissau tax administration on the consolidation of its modernization agenda, underpinned by the tax administration´s digital transformation. Starting amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the digitalization journey has progressively improved taxpayer services with FAD guidance. The tax administration reform´s next steps should focus on the use of information technology and third-party data to enhance timely voluntary tax compliance, enforce accurate reporting, and incentivize and monitor revenue mobilization. The TA report also reviewed the next steps to the Value-Added Tax implementation.
April 24, 2024
Mongolia: Public Investment Management Assessment Update
Description: An IMF team found that Mongolia has made progress in public investment management since the 2016 PIMA. However, several challenges persist, and new issues are emerging. The team has identified five high-priority recommendations that could improve PIM processes and support the effective implementation of the government's investment aspirations.
April 16, 2024
Cabo Verde: Climate Policy Assessment
Description: Cabo Verde faces development challenges from multiple structural factors, including insularity, territorial discontinuity, fragility of ecosystems, and scarcity of natural resources, namely water and arable land. Climate change implications are amplifying these challenges. As an island extension of the arid Sahel zone, Cabo Verde faces severe water shortage, which the country addresses more and more through energy intensive desalination, using electricity produced largely by thermal power plants, which depend entirely on imported fossil fuels. The resulting high energy prices directly impact the cost of water production. In conjunction with climate change induced aridity, the energy-water-climate nexus presents the core development challenge for the country.
April 16, 2024
Arabic Republic of Egypt: Egyptian Tax Authority: Maintaining Momentum in the Implementation of the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy (MTRS)
Description: The Egyptian Tax Administration (ETA) is undergoing a significant transformation within the framework of the MTRS. This summary provides an overview of ETA's progress in implementing the MTRS tax administration initiatives and highlights priority areas for future action. The report focused on key considerations to maintain reform momentum in tax administration under the MTRS in the areas of governance arrangements, organizational structure, human resource management, digitalization, and risk management. The report also contains a mid-term capacity development plan with identified priority areas to further support implementation of the MTRS in the area of tax administration.