The European Union has made available a grant of 20 million euros to the Government of Rwanda to strengthen the performance of economic governance, principally in the area of public financial management and statistics.
The agreement for the budget support grant was signed today by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Claver Gatete in the presence of the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Rwanda, Ambassador Michael Ryan.
“The European Union is one of Rwanda’s leading donors. Over 80% of our assistance takes the form of budget support. This is the highest level out of all African countries we partner with. It is a sign of our confidence in national macro-economic management, which is why we invest in boosting Rwanda’s public finance management systems and the production of robust statistics. These underpin our substantial grant contributions to energy and agriculture, for which two budget support agreements were signed earlier this year worth €182 million and €153 million respectively. Strong accountability and transparency of public finances is a government objective, one we wish to promote and support”, said EU Ambassador Michael Ryan.
The Accountable Economic Governance Support programme will contribute to the improved management and oversight of public finances at national and sub-national levels as well as the improved collection, analysis and provision of statistical information.
Through this programme, agreed with the Finance Ministry, the EU aims to build the organisational and operational capacity of four key institutions: the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the Rwandan Revenue Authority (RRA), the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and the National Institute for Statistics (NISR).
“The intention is that Rwanda generates its own revenues, has the oversight of the Auditor General, whose monitoring of the use of funds by public institutions is admirable, has the right data for making the right economic and social decisions, and equips the Finance Ministry to advance Rwanda’s plans for inclusive growth, prosperity and poverty alleviation”, adds Ambassador Ryan.
The agreement signed today is part of the EU’s total package of €460 million in grant form to Rwanda.
