Assessment Of Fiscal Transparency Of The Republic Of Congo

The policy goal behind the pursuit of fiscal transparency is to ensure that the objectives of fiscal policy,it’s legal, institutional, and economic framework, policy decisions and their rationale, data and information related to monetary and financial policies, and the terms of agencies’ accountability, are provided to the public on an understandable, accessible, and timely basis.Fiscal transparency is propagated as part of a larger policy goal of good economic governance pursued to achieve poverty reduction and attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).Indeed, on the Africa continent, the calls for more openness in the budget processes is part of a set of endeavors aimed at solving the paradox of copious natural resources and increasing donor magnanimity, on the one hand, and seemingly intractable abject poverty, on the other hand.It is also aimed at addressing corruption and theft of State resources and money laundering, among many.Against this background, this survey assesses the fiscal transparency practices in Republic of Congo. It relies on published reports including those of the international financial institutions, theoretical Literature, press reports, various websites to access laws, budget documents, reports, regional and international guidelines and case studies. The study looks at critical areas of transparency, namely:clarity of roles and responsibilities; public availability of information; open budget preparation, execution and reporting independent assurances of integrity; and the extent to which these are practiced in Republic of Congo.Overall, Republic of Congo is making progress towards better economic management, and, it appears that the prodigious pace of reforms is likely to continue. A melange of global and regional events discourage opaque budgeting processes, by supporting fiscal transparency and accountability specifically and better economic management in general. These events include the end of the cold War and cessation of support to corrupt regimes such a that found in former Zaire; the revelations of stolen assets by officials entrusted with State funds; the ponderous attention devoted to the effectiveness of aid; the announcement by G8countries of debt cancellation and other forms of aid to poor countries that are implementing good governance practices; the wave of democratization in Africa and the installation of governments favorably disposed to exercising good governance and Africa’s own initiative such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).Specifically, this study finds that a deluge of new laws and regulations of international standards in this country indicate a commitment to fiscal transparency supported by Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and multi-year budgeting processes to better link policy to budget and entrench fiscal discipline.On the negative side,the study finds seemingly insurmountable implementation shortfalls of these laws,partly reflecting lingering capacity constraints,susceptibility to the whims of weather,gyrations in commodity prices and anemic foreign aid flows.Reinvigorated efforts are keenly needed to enhance transparency in procurement and privatization processes, ensure the integrity of budgeting data and documents, and to address auditing and critical deficiencies in the involvement of Parliaments and other independent oversight organs.The most important constraint that the Republic of Congo faces in applying good fiscal transparency practices is the lack of political will and commitment. Without this element at the core of economic reforms in general and fiscal reforms in particular, no amount of foreign assistance or legislation can extricate the country and her peoples from the economic mismanagement, corrupt practices and the dire poverty plaguing the country.