With the implementation of the program budget within the States of Uemoa, including Senegal, two concepts come up frequently in the presentation of the Finance Laws and the reports of the parliamentary committees. These are payment appropriations and commitment authorisations. The economist and public finance specialist, Mamadou Ngom, dissects these two notions.

The institution of budgeting in payment appropriations and commitment authorizations, within the framework of the implementation of the program budget, is justified, at the legal level, by Directive n°06/2009/Council of Ministers/ Uemoa on finance laws within the Uemoa. According to the economist and public finance specialist, Mamadou Ngom, it is article 17 of the said directive which specifies that the appropriations opened by the finance laws are now made up of payment appropriations, for personnel expenses, acquisitions goods and services and transfer expenditure, and commitment authorizations and payment appropriations, for investment expenditure and public-private partnership contracts.

In the 2021 Finance Law of the State of Senegal, the Ministry of Finance and Budget specifies that within the meaning of Article 17 of Organic Law No. 2020-07 of February 26, 2020 relating to finance laws, amended , the appropriations opened by the finance law for the year are made up of commitment authorizations and payment appropriations applicable to all categories of expenditure from 2021. Mamadou Ngom indicates that the coupling, commitment authorizations and payment appropriations is an effective way of reconciling the multiannual budget and the program budget. The economist mentions that the budgeting and execution of commitment authorizations and payment appropriations are based on a budget control and monitoring process. Coupling makes it possible to institute a permanent state of watch over the budgetary expenditure chain. This approach, according to Mr. Ngom, is part of the logic of results-based management.

If we take the example of the 2021 draft budget of the Ministry of Culture and Communication, it is decided:

– in payment credits at 26,550,461,369 FCfa

– in commitment authorizations at FCfa 30,534,565,127.

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VERBATE

“The austerity policy is a false solution to a real problem. It confiscated the past, poisoned the present and dangerously mortgaged the future of many African countries”.

Cheikhna Bounajim Cissé, Malian economist and banker

(Financiak Afrik)

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“International rating agencies feel they have to make hot decisions when a situation arises. On the contrary, we do not react out of emotion, we take our time and analyze, because each risk event does not affect countries in the same way”.

Stanislas Zeze, CEO of Bloomfield Investment Corporation

(EcoFin)

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“There is more and more capital from the diaspora arriving in Africa for the development of business projects. I think that the entry into force of the Zlecaf will further promote this trend”.

Guillaume Pambrun, Managing Director of Africa Rapid Transfer

(The Africa Tribune)

FIGURE OF THE WEEK

2200 billion FCfa

During the “Finance in common” Summit, organized in Paris on November 12, fifteen European development banks pledged 4 billion dollars (i.e. nearly 2,200 billion FCfa) by the end of 2021 to African SMEs. This will be in collaboration with Findev Canada, the American Dfc (Development finance corporation), the Bad, the Icd (Islamic corporation for the development of the private sector) and the Boad.

(Young Africa)