By Malte Boehm

The African Organisation of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions (AFROSAI-E) and GIZ-Good Financial Governance in Africa Programme (GFG) implemented a refresher course on the Public Finance Management (PFM) Reporting Framework in November 2022. The PFM Reporting Framework is a tool for Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) to strengthen its contribution to holistic PFM reform towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that was developed by AFROSAI-E and GIZ-GFG.

A team from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) Zimbabwe were trained on the use of the tool from the 14 – 17 November 2022. The United Nations Development Programme Zimbabwe delivered a session on the country’s SDG targets as well as the Voluntary National Review (VNR) process.

OAG Zimbabwe, AFROSAI-E and GIZ-GFG presented the PFM Reporting Framework as well as the SAI’s plan to implement the tool in 2023. The Ghana Audit Service team were trained in the new developments of the tool from from the 28 – 30 November 2022, and as a result came up with their PFM RF audit plan for 2023. The PFM RF will be implemented alongside their statutory audit. Both SAIs, Zimbabwe and Ghana, are now moving to implement the PFM Reporting Framework a second time – an important step for further institutionalising of the tool.

The refresher courses in November 2022, demonstrated the Reporting Framework’s strong regional uptake as resources from the SAIs of Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe led the trainings. The GIZ regional and bilateral programmes through the Good Financial Governance in Africa Programme, the Good Financial Governance in Zimbabwe Programme as well as the Governance for Inclusive Development Programme in Ghana collaborated to make the workshops a success.