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The webinar on the impact of PEFA assessments on public financial management reforms in Francophone Africa, held online on 7 October, was acclaimed by the PEFA community, with more than 180 participants from many countries and a wide range of institutions.
Speakers highlighted the importance of Francophone Africa for the PEFA program, welcomed the progress made by these countries in public financial management, and invited the public to turn to the PEFA Secretariat at any time during the evaluation process.
The session was opened by Mr. Gaël Raballand, Practice Manager of the World Bank. Mr. Raballand recalled the role of PEFA, a standardized methodology created to reduce the cost and complexity of public financial management (PFM) evaluations.
“PEFA is based on the idea that PFM institutions and systems are essential and indispensable for the implementation of development and poverty reduction policies.”
Mr. Raballand noted that PEFA has carried out more than 800 assessments in more than 150 countries since its inception in 2001, making it a global benchmark for PFM diagnosis.
Mr. Jean-Philippe Vion and Mr. Joseph Dalibon, members of the PEFA Secretariat, then outlined the PFM efforts made by Francophone African countries over the past ten years. They welcomed the progress made from one PEFA assessment to the next, noting that the average score on the region improved for each pillar between 2016 and 2025, with results that approached international standards and exceeded them for some pillars.
Ms. Vanessa Doucelin, Head of the Governance Division of the French Development Agency (AFD), recalled the role played by France and AFD in the financing of PEFA as well as in the definition of its orientations and the conduct of its operations. AFD provides budget support to PEFA, sits on the Steering Committee, and finances a technical assistance package to support the conduct of evaluations, with a particular interest in the PEFA Gender and PEFA Climate assessments.
“We at AFD, and in particular in the Governance Division, are convinced that PFM is fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of poverty reduction, and that to do so, the PEFA program is a powerful tool at the disposal of the countries that benefit from it.”
AFD's support extends post-PEFA to the definition and implementation of PFM reform strategies, including the financing of tailor-made projects — for example, a gender-responsive budgeting project in Morocco. According to Ms. Doucelin, the impact of PEFA assessments must be strengthened, the pool of French-speaking experts must be developed, and partnerships with other financial donors must be encouraged.
Mr. Etienne Mafweni, Technical Assistant, COREF, Democratic Republic of the Congo, shared his experience with PEFA during the national assessment conducted by the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2024. This is the fourth assessment of the country, following the exercises conducted in 2008, 2012 and 2019.
“The advantage of PEFA is that it provides a framework for comparability — with ourselves, from one assessment to another, but also with our peers, the countries in the region with whom we share realities and challenges. This reference framework allows us to measure how much and how we are evolving.”
Mr. Mafweni also shared what he sees as the limitations of the PEFA framework. According to him, evaluations offer a snapshot at a given point in time without allowing continuity of PFM monitoring between two exercises. He regrets the large number of documents to be gathered as part of an evaluation, considering that this attachment to documents sometimes obscures the quality of the actual processes in the field.
Mr. Serdar Yilmaz, Practice Manager, concluded the session by emphasizing the universality of the PEFA framework and inviting each country to take it up, without forgetting to seek guidance and advice from the PEFA Secretariat if necessary.
PEFA Secretariat would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to all those who attended this global webinar, an event that is part of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the PEFA program.
The full recording of the webinar can be viewed at this link on the PEFA Secretariat YouTube channel
