PAWED ADVOCACY COALITION PARTICIPATE IN ONE DAY STAKEHOLDERS CONSULTATTIVE FORUM ON MEDIUM-TERM EXPENDITURE FRAMEWORK (MTEF) 2022-2024 AND YEAR 2022 BUDGET PREPARATION OF EDO STATE ORGANISED BY THE MINISTRY OF BUDGET AND ECONOMIC PLANNING BENIN CITY
The PAWED advocacy coalition group on the 29th October 2021 conducted advocacy visit to the commissioner and permanent secretary ministry of budget and economic planning (Otse Momoh-Omorogbe and Mr. Efe Iserhienrhie). The objective of the advocacy visit was to advocate for increased investment for women economic empowerment program and timely releases to ensure project execution. One of the next steps from the engagement was that PAWED advocacy coalition group will support the ministry of budget and economic planning to hold a consultative forum on MTEF 2022-2024 and year 2022 budget preparation. The objective of the consultative forum engagement was to
- Agree on sector objectives, outputs, and activities
- Review and development of programs and sub-programs
- Program cost estimation
- Analysis of inter- and intra-sectoral trade-offs
- Consensus-building on strategic resource allocation
- Setting medium term sector budget ceilings (cabinet approval)
- Medium term sectoral programs based on budget ceilings
- Presentation of budget estimates to cabinet and parliament for approval
The Edo state Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) 2022-2024 is a multi-year public expenditure planning exercise, which is used to set out the future budget requirements for existing services, and to assess the resource implications of future policy changes and any new programmes. The benefits of MTEF include the following: improved efficiency of public expenditure, improved predictability of resource flows and improved efficiency, raised resource consciousness and promotion of output or outcome focused approaches, and improved accountability.
The MTEF is intended to facilitate a number of important outcomes: greater macroeconomic balance; improved inter- and intra-sectoral resource allocation; greater budgetary predictability for line ministries; and more efficient use of public monies. The stages of the state MTEF includes: the development of macroeconomic/fiscal framework, development of Sectoral Programs, development of Sectoral expenditure frameworks; definition of sector resource allocations and preparation of sectoral budgets and final political approval. Currently the state is at the preparation of sectoral budgets stage
Participant for the consultative forum were drawn from the state MDAs, the state eighteen LGAs directors of finance, civil society organizations, women economic collective and donor partners
The meeting opening remarks was given by the commissioner for budget and economic planning Otse Momoh-Omorogbe she said the inputs and comments of stakeholders would enable the state government to prepare a good and better 2022 budget. She noted that every year during the budget preparatory stage, we engage citizens and other stakeholders in order to have their inputs and comments
She enjoyed all participants to be actively involved in all the stages of MTEF to ensure that their voices and demands are captured
On his part, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Mr. Efe Iserhienrhie, said the engagement will enable the ministry to know what to include or remove from the budget in order to have a people’s budget. He also noted that this process will affords the ministry the opportunity to explain to them why they are proposing the budget, where they intend to get the money and how they are going to finance it and spend the expected revenue. This then followed the presentation of the meeting objectives by the functioning permanent secretary of the ministry
The forum engagement witnesses the presentation of the year 2021 citizen budget performance of the state by the functioning permanent secretary ministry of budget and economic planning and Presentation on the Edo state 2022-2024 MTEF by the director of budget ministry of budget and economic planning
Key issues raised by PAWED advocacy coalition
- Increased investment for women economic empowerment programs
- Harmonisation of all women economic empowerment program
Highlight of the forum engagement was the sitting up of a communique drafting committee with the composition of civil society organizations and women’s economic collective. The aim of the committee was to harmonize all green areas and key issues raised by all the participants during the comment and questions section
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