Finance and Economic Planning minister Philip Mpango displays the Public Investment Management Operation Manual he launched in Dodoma yesterday. He is flanked by Dodoma regional administrative secretary Rehema Madenge (left) and the President’s Office Planning Commission acting secretary Florence Mwanri. PHOTO I EMMANUEL HERMAN
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Dr Mpango said the formulation of the manual was compounded by the need for addressing weaknesses in the country’s investment management framework. He said shortcomings had resulted into a significant number of ‘white elephant’ projects and that they had, more tragically, led to the government’s failure to provide the public with the much-needed quality services.
Dodoma. The minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Philip Mpango, yesterday launched the Public Investment Management-Operational Manual (PIM-OM) which will oversee the execution of all public investments in the country.
Dr Mpango said the formulation of the manual was compounded by the need for addressing weaknesses in the country’s investment management framework. He said shortcomings had resulted into a significant number of ‘white elephant’ projects and that they had, more tragically, led to the government’s failure to provide the public with the much-needed quality services.
The manual, which was prepared by the Planning Commission, is intended to address the shortfalls by providing guidance on methods and procedures involved in selecting, financing, implementing and evaluating projects the government finances. It also outlines a set of important technical approaches and tools for economic, financial and social analyses of the projects; provides guidance on appropriate handling and management of various stages of the project cycle and elaborates procedures for integration of projects in the national development plans and budgets. Dr Mpango also warned public officials over attempts to violate the procedures stipulated in the manual, saying the wrath of the government would descend upon them. “The formulation of the manual could not have come at a more timely moment. The fifth phase government has set aside an unprecedented Sh8.7 trillion, equivalent to 40 per cent of the next fiscal year’s national budget, for its development budget. “There’s also an intense industrialisation campaign to be initiated through the roll out of the Second Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP II) which comes with it huge infrastructural demands,” he said. The executive secretary of the Planning Commission, Dr Florence Mwanri, said the targeted users of the manual mainly were technocrats who prepare proposals for development projects in both central and local government, believing it would impart guidance on them to execute the projects to envisaged levels.
