Technical Assistance Reports
2024
March 29, 2024
Republic of Palau: Technical Assistance Report-Managing Government Employment and Compensation
Description: Upon the authorities’ request, the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department provided technical assistance to Palau on reforming government employment and compensation policies. Palau is facing significant challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified staff for essential public services due to emigration. The government's compensation structure has become increasingly compressed, making it difficult to recruit and retain skilled workers, particularly in the health and education sectors. The mission suggested that targeted pay increases, subject to available fiscal space, could alleviate these issues. Additionally, innovative approaches, such as merging some state government functions with the national government and facilitating the recruitment of foreign workers, could improve public service delivery efficiency. The recent establishment of the Employment and Compensation Committee (ECC) marks a significant step towards the necessary development of a medium-term strategy to address these challenges.
March 27, 2024
Republic of Armenia: Technical Assistance Report-Strengthening State-Owned Enterprises Accountability Framework
Description: Over the past decades the Republic of Armenia has implemented significant reforms to reduce the state footprint in their economy and to improve the performance of the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) where the Government intends to retain ownership. The Government has taken concrete steps focusing on improving the financial transparency and fiscal viability of SOEs. This report discusses how the Government can further strengthen the SOE financial accountability, transparency and oversight, and SOEs corporate governance in line with good international practices. These measures should be combined with further efforts in reducing the number of SOEs, focusing on those that do not align with the Government strategic priorities and the state ownership policy.
March 25, 2024
Georgia: Technical Assistance Report-Fiscal Transparency Evaluation
Description: This report updates the Fiscal Transparency Evaluation for Georgia published in 2017. Over the past six years, Georgia has taken significant steps to address the transparency gaps identified in the 2017 assessment. Fiscal reporting has become more comprehensive through an increased coverage of public entities, and the publishing of annual financial statements for the central government since 2020. Improvements in fiscal forecasting and budgeting include, but are not limited to, the recalibration and adoption of a new set of fiscal rules and the reconciliation and explanation of changes to the government’s previous forecasts. Fiscal risk analysis and management has been expanded to comprise a wider set of risks, and at the same time undertaking more complex analytical exercises, including of long-term risks. The updated evaluation identified gaps that the country should address to continue improving transparency, including further increasing the coverage of fiscal reports or strengthening the external oversight of the government’s financial position, among others.
March 22, 2024
Republic of Moldova: Technical Assistance Report-Analysis of the Draft Law on the Anti-Corruption Judicial System and on Amending Some Normative Acts
Description: Upon the request of the authorities of Moldova, the Legal Department provided Technical Assistance on the establishment of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Judiciary (SAJ) in Moldova. The TA report provides analysis of the draft law on the Anti-Corruption Judicial System and other related laws, and proposes recommendations. The recommendations are informed by international standards and good practices on judicial independence and integrity, and are designed to respond to specific challenges faced by Moldova. The creation of the SAJ is an important new initiative aimed at strengthening anti-corruption efforts following the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Office (APO) in 2016. A SAJ composed of judges selected through competitive process with the participation of civil society and reputable anti-corruption experts, can significantly contribute to reducing corruption through effective adjudication of corruption cases.
March 22, 2024
Republic of Moldova: Technical Assistance Report-Report on Consumer Price Index Mission (September 11-15, 2023)
Description: New data sources are now available in many countries to supplement direct collection of prices for the consumer price index (CPI). This technical assistance mission supported the National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova with incorporating scanner data from the State Tax Service of the Republic of Moldova electronic sales monitoring system into the CPI.
March 20, 2024
Indonesia: Technical Assistance Report-Subnational Government Endowment Funds
Description: The Indonesian authorities are exploring options for the establishment of subnational government endowment funds and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has drafted regulations in that context. However, the motivations and objective for establishing an endowment fund at the subnational level diverge across various stakeholders. Clarity of the objectives and purpose of the endowment fund will be critical for informing features of its architecture, and the endowment fund should be aligned with the national fiscal policy objectives. Establishing such funds at a time of fiscal deficit entails a “borrowing-to-save” approach which is not optimal from a fiscal policy perspective. Currently, there is a misalignment between the design of inflow and outflow rules, the endowment fund’s objectives, and the fiscal/economic context. In addition, the current draft MoF regulations restrict the investment policy to conform with the law on decentralization enacted in 2022. This report emphasizes that regardless of the structure of the endowment fund, it needs to be fully integrated within the budget. The report also provides recommendations on assessing the full cost of the subnational government endowment fund, its design and implementation, and provides suggestions to improve the draft MoF regulations.
March 18, 2024
Somalia: Technical Assistance Report-Consumer Price Index Mission (May 3–14, 2023)
Description: A technical assistance (TA) mission was conducted by the statistics department of the IMF in May 2023 to assist the Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS) with updating the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Preliminary consumer basket was created during the mission with expanded coverage, and the higher aggregate weights were calculated using the updated classification of individual consumption by purpose (COICOP 2018). Somali Integrated Household Budget Survey (SIHBS) 2022 was used as a main source for calculating preliminary CPI weights. The index compilation methodology was reviewed and recommendations for improvements were provided.
March 15, 2024
Jordan: Technical Assistance Report-Developing Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process SRP Framework
Description: The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Middle East Regional Technical Assistance Center (METAC) is currently assisting the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) in enhancing its risk-based supervision through the development of a Supervisory Review and Evaluation SRP framework inspired from European Central Bank (ECB) methodology. The Technical Assistance TA mission is part of a multi-step medium-term project. The TA mission aimed to design, in coordination with CBJ, a progressive multi-step roadmap defining the major milestones for a full implementation of SRP. The mission noted that several dimensions should be taken into consideration when implementing the SRP, most notably bridging the data gap by building a fully-fledged supervisory risk database through a dedicated IT project, assessing whether the current organization of the Banking Supervisory Department should be adjusted, and progressively cover all material sources of risks in the SRP.
March 13, 2024
Principality of Andorra: Technical Assistance Report-Report on External Sector Statistics Mission (March 21–April 1, 2022)
Description: A technical assistance (TA) mission on external sector statistics (ESS) was conducted for the Andorran Statistics Department (ASD) in the Principality of Andorra in March and April 2022. The mission focused on initiating the compilation of international investment position (IIP) and in producing balance of payments statistics regularly with an improved coverage and quality. The mission also assisted the ASD in developing the new direct reporting system, which will be used as one of the main source data for compiling balance of payments statistics and IIP annually.
March 13, 2024
Principality of Andorra: Technical Assistance Report-Report on External Sector Statistics Mission (September 4–15, 2023)
Description: A technical assistance (TA) mission on external sector statistics (ESS) was conducted for the Andorran Statistics Department (ASD) in the Principality of Andorra in September 2023. The mission focused on preparing plans to improve the frequency of producing balance of payments statistics and international investment position (IIP) from annual to quarterly and to enhance the coverage and quality of the balance of payments and IIP data. The mission assisted the ASD in establishing the framework of the quarterly enterprise survey, which will be used as one of the main source data for compiling balance of payments statistics and IIP quarterly.