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Background
The Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS)
aims to achieve the goals set out in
the interim constitution, in the context
of a decentralized system of governance
characterized by transparency, accountability
and equitable resource allocation. Achieving
such goals is a challenge in many developing
countries, but even more so in Southern
Sudan, where infrastructure and communications
networks across the south are limited,
an estimated 3 – 4 million displaced
people are in the process of returning
to their homes, service delivery is
almost non-existent and establishment
of basic rule of law and human security
remains a challenge. In addition, since
the GoSS has been in existence for less
than two years, its institutional capacity
is still weak, and government planning
and financial management systems are
still in the process of being established.
Nonetheless, the GoSS has access
to significant resources with which
to fund its expenditures. Its share
of oil revenues currently amounts
to US $1.3bn per annum, while it also
benefits from approximately US $300m
of development aid from international
donors on an annual basis, almost
one third of which is channeled directly
to Government projects through the
Multi-Donor Trust Fund.
In order for the Government to use
these substantial resources effectively
to meet the objectives set out in
the transitional legal framework,
it needs to develop a strong, participatory
planning and budget framework which
guides resource allocations and expenditures
in a transparent manner, in line with
Government priorities and the needs
of the people of Southern Sudan.
The Support to Economic Planning
Project builds on UNDP’s one-year
Aid Management support project to
the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Planning (MoFEP), which finished in
January 2007. The Aid Management support
project assisted MoFEP in initiating
the budget sector working group planning
process, and in developing the GoSS
aid strategy for the coordination
of donor aid.
Objectives
The overall objective of the Support
to Economic Planning Project is to provide
institutional support to the Ministry
of Finance and Economic Planning, GoSS
so that:
• The capacity of the Government
of Southern Sudan’s Budget Sector
Working Groups for planning, budgeting
and reporting enhanced.
• The Ministry of Finance and
Economic Planning empowered to lead
the development of a GoSS Development
Framework, based on the outputs of the
GoSS Budget Sector Plans.
• Donor and UN projects increasingly
formulated, co-coordinated and reported
on, in line with the Government of Southern
Sudan’s development priorities
and economic development needs.
Snapshots of the project's major achievements
The first phase of the Support to Economic
Planning Project ran from January 2006
– January 2007, as the Aid Management
Project.
The Aid Management Project assisted
the Government of Southern Sudan to:
• Establish a Government-wide
planning mechanism through the establishment
of ten GoSS Budget Sector Working
Groups.
• Develop the GoSS Aid Strategy
for donor co-ordination.
• Use donor participation in
the Budget Sector Working Groups as
a mechanism for aid co-ordination.
• Establish regular donor co-ordination
meetings (the Quarterly Donor Forum).
• Institute systematic donor
project appraisal mechanisms (the
Inter-Ministerial Project Appraisal
Committee).
In 2007, the Support to Economic
Planning Project has continued to
build on these achievements by,:
• Strengthening the GoSS Budget
Sector Working Groups through the
provision of specialist training on
drafting 3-year Budget Sector Plans.
• Assisting the Ministry of
Finance to initiate a ‘bottom-up’
approach to planning by including
the Director-Generals of the ten States
of Southern Sudan in consultations
on the ten draft Budget Sector Plans
for 2008-2010, drafted by the GoSS
Budget Sector Working Groups.
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