– Design & Implementing PFM in Audit, Procurement & Accounting

UNDP Somalia is supporting capacity building programs for Somali public institutions so that they can function more effectively to deliver services to the Somali people. UNDP Somalia is providing institutional capacity building support through one of its project, the Somali Institutional Development Project (SIDP). The Somali Institutional Development Project (SIDP) is assisting in developing key central and state government institutions so that they are able to manage core government functions more effectively for service delivery to the Somali people. The project is now undergoing a redesign process by focusing on the key priorities of the three government administrations .The project is currently comprised of 4 main pillars;

1)      Public Financial Management, Transparency and Accountability,

2)      Development Planning and Aid Coordination,

3)      Public Sector and Parliamentary Reforms; and

4)      Implementing the good governance tasks for the multi-stakeholder Somalia Roadmap to transition.

 The Public Financial Management (PFM), Transparency and Accountability pillar which is the main subject of this assignment is further sub-divided into 4 sub-components:

a)      Increasing the amount of domestic revenue collected

b)      National and State budgets are developed and implemented through inclusive and transparent processes

c)      Increased transparency and accountability in the use of public funds

d)      Professional capacities to manage account for and report on public funds improved

 The level of development of public financial management systems varies across the 3 Somalia administrative divisions and the security situation also varies per region. The security situation in Mogadishu is fast improving following the withdrawal of the militias to other south central Somalia. Somaliland has been relatively calm and has witnesses a peaceful change of government through elections in the second half of 2010. Puntland State is also relatively peaceful and has close working relations with the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Due to the relative differences in political stability and security situations, the availability of local capacity also varies accordingly. With the current drive to pacify Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia, more skilled Somalis are beginning to return from the Diasporas. Overall, Somalia still has insufficient numbers of qualified human resources to effectively plan and implement government programs. The Institutions and systems that were destroyed during the two decade civil war have not yet been rebuilt and are thus not functioning effectively. This assignment is intended to address some of the problems identified above.

 The governments of the TFG, Somaliland and Puntland state are now keen to rebuild public institutions, establish functional systems and build the capacities of the government workforce. The main priorities covered under this assignment are to improve public accounting & reporting systems, and introduce transparency and competition in public procurement and enhance the effectiveness of external oversight mechanisms, all are weak.  Much work has been done by UNDP (SIDP) and other international Development Partners, such as the World Bank, DFID, and USAID, AfDB and others. The work that has already been done by SIDP includes identification of gaps in accounting and reporting systems, provision of technical assistance to the offices of the Auditor General and Accountant General, training of public finance staff on accounting and financial reporting  and some of them are enrolled into the professional accounting course, ACCA. Furthermore, SIDP supported budget and revenue reforms particularly in Somaliland where the GFS 2001 budget classification was adopted in the 2011 national budget, taxpayer education and other initiatives have been implemented leading to increase in revenue collection by 40% from 2010 to 2011. Due to the poor security situation in Mogadishu which lasted until recently, SIDP support there has been limited to supporting a few students of ACCA, and training staff of the Central Bank of Somalia.  The World Bank has drafted bills for Procurement, Public Finance, Audit and Domestic Taxes for Somaliland. The AfDB has drafted a Public Finance Bill for the TFG and conducted training in budget formulation. UNDP Somalia Country office is based in Nairobi and has sub-offices in Somaliland and Puntland and a liaison office in Mogadishu. There is a mixture of national and international UNDP staff, both in the Nairobi and the sub-offices (In Mogadishu there are only a few national operational staff).

 UNDP Somalia is seeking to contract the services of a professionally reputable consulting firm (or a consortium of firms) to develop and implement a Public Finance Management Program that includes accounting and financial reporting, public procurement and auditing pillars for  the TFG, Somaliland and Puntland. The scope of work shall vary per region and is divided into three lots. Lot I is Somaliland, Lot II is Puntland and Lot III is TFG. Interested firms can quote for all or some of the pillars. Detailed objectives of the assignment and scope of work are included in the next section.