A delegation headed by Deputy Minister of Finance II, Bockarie Kalokoh, left Freetown for Kigali in mid-December 2022 to share the experience with the Authorities in Rwanda on how the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPAI) reforms are implemented, and how Sierra Leone can use the information to improve on its CPIA score.
The delegation comprised members from the World Bank, Ministry of Finance, Solicitor General, Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Audit Service Sierra Leone, Human Resource Management Office and the National Revenue Authority.
Speaking at the opening courtesy with the authorities in Rwanda, Deputy Minister Bockarie Kalokoh stated that the study tour is to learn from what Rwanda has been doing on the implementation of the reforms that have improved their Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) rating over the years.
He furthered that the Government is committed to mobilising concessional resources of which the CPIA is a major indicator in the allocation of IDA resources.
Bockarie Kalokoh also stated that the tour is to understand how the authorities followed –up on audit procedures, processes, and recommendations, how the CPIA team coordinates with the World Bank country team in carrying out assessments, identify the challenges faced during the reform processes and how those challenges are addressed.
He thanked the World Bank Country Office for facilitating this study and stated that it is very significant in improving the country’s CPIA rating.
During the discussions, Sierra Leone’s delegation noted the following
• There is the existence of a robust Performance Management System with broad national goals and targets that are translated into the Individual Performance Appraisal System
• They have a well-digitalized public sector management system (recruitment and compensation) in place
• The size and composition of the public workforce constitute 6% of the country’s total workforce whilst the private sector constitutes 94%.
• There are Real time transfers of local government collection to the respective districts, at a 10% collection commission to the RRA.
• They have a Taxpayer Appreciation
• The Rwandan law does not make provision for the AG to impose sanctions
• Their audit report is submitted to Parliament which indicates how the budget was executed, whether are unnecessary or unlawful expenses, and whether there were issues of embezzlement or squandering of public funds.
The delegation discussed with the Rwanda Cooperation, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Office of the Auditor-General, Rwanda Governance Board, Ministry of Public Service and Labour, Rwanda Revenue Authority and other agencies.
This study tour came at a time when Sierra Leone just concluded its CPIA reporting assessment retreat with all relevant MDAs.
As of 2021, Rwanda’s CPIA rating is 4.1% and they can attract about 1.8 billion dollars in resources as compared to Sierra Leone’s 3.2 and about 300 million dollars in resources.
The Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) assesses the quality of a country’s policy and institutional framework that supports sustainable growth and poverty reduction.
The CPIA is a critical component of the Performance Based Allocation (PBA) Formula used by the World Bank and the African Development Bank to allocate concessional financial support to low-income countries.
It plays a significant role in the Country’s performance ratings (CPRs), established annually since 1980 as a basis for allocating resources from the International Development Association (IDA) to eligible countries.
