$34 million plan to restore
fiscal management functions

Disbursements to be linked to performance

The World Bank said it has approved the Fiscal Management Project to help restore basic fiscal management functions of the public administration, enhance tax compliance, and the accountable allocation and use of public resources.

The $34 million project involves providing training and capacity building for the implementation of the customs law, and upgrading the capacity of tax and customs systems in the field of information and communications technology (ICT).

Out of the total, a sum $14.1 million will be allocated to the ICT system including hardware, software, licenses, and maintenance. Around $12.3 million will be used over three years for disbursements that will be linked to performance-based conditions such as timely budget preparation and accurate reporting. . The remaining $6.7 million will be used in green energy investments, technical assistance, and capacity building activities.

“The project will also restore fiscal controls and support greater government accountability by strengthening budget preparation, regularizing fiscal reporting, timely processing public payments and restoring critical IT functions for core public financial management. The project will further strengthen the oversight and accountability capacity of the Court of Accounts and the Central Inspection, enhance the capacity building functions of the Institute of Finance, and professionalize public procurement practitioners,” the World Bank said in a statement.

“Performance-based conditions were selected for their criticality in restoring core public financial management functions and enhancing accountability and transparency,” the statement read.

The project is financed by a $28.5 loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in addition to a $5.5 million grant from the Lebanon Financing Facility (LFF). LEF is a five-year multi-donor trust fund established in the aftermath of the Port Explosion. It has received so far nearly $70 million in contributions from Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, and the EU.