International Journal of Government Auditing – January 2012
Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation
Heads of state, ministers, and over 2,000 representatives from all types of public, civil society, private sector, and international organizations from across the globe met in Busan, Republic of South Korea, November 29 to December 1, to agree on a new global partnership for effective development cooperation. Terence Nombembe, the Chair of INTOSAI and Auditor-General of South Africa, addressed participants on the importance of strong, independent SAIs for sustainable national development and effective use of public resources.
Strengthening the Role of Supreme Audit Institutions in Building Effective Country Institutions
At Busan, the presence of the Chair of INTOSAI and a small delegation from the INTOSAI community was another step in INTOSAI’s expanded engagement with the international development community. It came shortly after members of the INTOSAI Governing Board sent a joint letter to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Aid Effectiveness. This letter set out the role and importance of effective country institutions, specifically supreme audit institutions (SAI), in reducing poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals and called for three issues to be considered in Busan:
- SAIs should be included as significant partners in shaping and implementing the building block on Effective Country Institutions being prepared for Busan, which heads of SAIs support in principle.
- The international development community recognizes INTOSAI as a core component of the international development architecture and supports the tabling and adoption of a future United Nations General Assembly Resolution, entitled “Promoting Transparency and Accountability by Strengthening Government Auditing,” which would call upon members to implement and apply the principles set out in the 1977 Lima Declaration of Guidelines on Audit Precepts and the 2007 Mexico Declaration on SAI Independence.
- The international development community recognizes the SAI as a core function of the state, contributing to state legitimacy and accountability, and therefore a key building block of effective institutions and states.
Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness
This was the fourth high-level forum (HLF4) on aid effectiveness, following meetings in Rome (2003), Paris (2005), and Accra (2008). The HLF was originally established to discuss concerns with the way aid was provided and enhance the effectiveness of aid. The second HLF led to donors and aid recipients agreeing on the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which established five broad principles (ownership, alignment, harmonization, mutual accountability, and managing for development results) for the way aid is provided. The HLF has become the largest and most important international forum for discussions on aid and development effectiveness. Since Paris, participation has expanded to include countries and organizations involved in all forms of development cooperation, significantly beyond the initial focus on north-south aid.
INTOSAI participated in these high-level discussions on the future of development cooperation for the first time at HLF4. The INTOSAI delegation took away three key messages from the event:
- The international community will increasingly focus on institutions, policies, and partnerships that promote effective development, rather than on the effectiveness of aid.
- There is increased recognition of the importance of accountability and oversight institutions, including SAIs and parliamentary committees, as part of effective country institutions for development. This recognition includes enhancing accountability based on transparency in the use of public resources.
- Global partnerships, similar to the INTOSAI model, are likely to be used much more widely as a mechanism to promote south-south and triangular cooperation (e.g., a developed country and a country with recent successful experience of relevant institutional development helping a developing country to find appropriate solutions to its own unique challenges), as well as knowledge exchange, peer learning, and cooperation.
The Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation
The main outcome of HLF4 was a high-level document designed to set the future agenda for development cooperation. This document is intended to forge a more inclusive global partnership for development, recognizing the roles of south-south cooperation, civil society, and the private sector as well as north-south development assistance. It set out the following four key principles for all forms of development cooperation.
Shared Principles to Achieve Common Goals
a) Ownership of development priorities by developing countries.
b) Focus on results.
c) Inclusive development partnerships.
d) Transparency and accountability to each other.
(Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation, paragraph 11)
While these principles are firmly embedded in the way INTOSAI works, the focus on results reinforces the need for SAIs to effectively communicate the value and benefits they offer and to demonstrate the results of their audit work and their capacity development initiatives. This further highlights the importance of the tasks of the Working Group on the Value and Benefits of SAIs, chaired by South Africa, and the ongoing work on measuring results by various INTOSAI regional bodies.
The importance of effective and independent SAIs for the future of effective development cooperation can be seen throughout the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation document.
- “The use and strengthening of developing countries’ systems remains central to our efforts to build effective institutions.” (paragraph 19)
- “Focus, at the country level, on establishing transparent public financial management and aid information systems.” (paragraph 23b)
- “Effective institutions and policies are essential for sustainable development. Institutions fulfilling core state functions should, where necessary, be strengthened.” (paragraph 29)
- “Implement fully our respective commitments to eradicate corruption. . . . [T]his includes our efforts to improve fiscal transparency, strengthen independent enforcement mechanisms, and extend protection to whistleblowers.” (paragraph 33a)
Discussions prior to and at Busan recognized that fragile states are the most at risk for not meeting the Millennium Development Goals and that more needs to be done to understand and help them overcome the challenges they face. A new set of Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Goals were endorsed, including a focus on enhancing legitimate politics and state legitimacy, sound economic foundations (including the collection and proper use of domestic revenues), and equity in the delivery of services. As Mr. Nombembe emphasized in one of his interventions, effective and independent SAIs have the potential to enhance state legitimacy and state-society relations if they are seen as independent by nonstate actors and are able to publish objective reports on the use of public funds.
INTOSAI as a Model for the Future of Development Cooperation
The INTOSAI delegation found it heartening to note the increased interest in global partnerships as an effective and complementary form of development cooperation. Mr. Nombembe illuminated discussions on future forms of development cooperation with a portrait of INTOSAI as an inclusive global partnership of organizations from almost 190 countries with over 50 years of experience. Its successes in promoting knowledge exchange, peer learning, and cooperation and in setting global standards, developing global public goods, and creating peer pressure and mutual support for reform attracted much interest. Recognizing these successes and the potential for similar global partnerships, the International Federation of Accountants signed a Memorandum of Understanding to Strengthen Accountancy and Improve Collaboration (MOSAIC) with a group of donors that seeks to apply the experiences of the INTOSAI-Donor Cooperation to advancing the accountancy profession in developing countries. Procurement bodies from around the world also began discussing the possibility of a global partnership for the procurement profession.
Finally, numerous sessions promoted the use of south-south and triangular cooperation. To the INTOSAI delegation, it was encouraging to hear the approaches INTOSAI has been using for decades, through its regional structures, being talked about as the future of development cooperation.
For additional information, contact the INTOSAI-Donor Cooperation Secretariat at idi@idi.no.