Monitoring critical for budget implementation

Government last week unveiled the 2013 -2014 national budget. According to the budget, Rwanda’s total domestic revenues for the next fiscal year have been estimated at Rwf 994.9 billion which is 60.2 per cent of the total Rwf 1.6 trillion budget.This leaves external resources accounting for only 39.8 percent of the total budget or Rwf 658.6 billion.Among the highlights is the allocation of 50 percent of the resources under the next fiscal year to fund EDPRS II, economic transformation (Rwf 459 billion), rural development(Rwf 164 billion), productivity and youth employment(Rwf 163 billion), as well as accountable governance(41billion).The proposed expenditure has drawn commendation from different stakeholders, MPs, donors and experts.There is a general feeling that its a pro-people budget which is critical to Rwanda’s long-term goal to attain middle-income status by 2020.However, good plans need keen implementation strategies. Some of these strategies have showed results already. For instance the performance contracts have ensured accountability and good service delivery.However, the planning authorities need to increase monitoring and evaluation as it is critical if the government is to achieve its set targets. Also the intended beneficiaries should be widely consulted on the ongoing projects in order to ensure ownership of the development projects. Through the decentralisation policy, local governments should strengthen the capacity to monitor the projects while consulting the intended beneficiaries.

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Monitoring critical for budget implementation