Valuable Learning Lessons for Better Costing and Budgeting of Structural Reforms
The implementation of structural reforms often faces challenges in the prioritization of effective reforms, calculation of costs and securing budget for implementation. Mr. Milaim Aliu, Head of Division for Central Budget at the Budget Department of Ministry of Finance of Kosovo, has joined us at several learning initiatives where issues related to the costing of structural reforms in the Economic Reform Programme (ERP) were addressed. As Mr. Aliu also coordinates the process of development of the ERP with the Office of Prime Minister, he regarded these learning initiatives as a good opportunity to help him better understand the framework for measuring the costs of structural reform measures under the ERPs.
“Kosovo as a European Union potential candidate country is obliged to prepare the Economic Reform Programme (ERP). In this regard, the CEF has played a crucial role by organizing learning events for participants from the Ministry of Finance and line ministries, contributing to designing, costing and budgeting of structural reforms as part of the ERP.
It is important to mention that even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CEF continued with learning events, organizing them virtually, and I am very grateful and thankful for that. In the last few years, I attended the following learning initiatives:
- Integration of Structural Reforms into Budget,
- Knowledge Sharing on Costing of Structural Reforms,
- Costing of Structural Reforms in ERP, and
- Regional Networking for Structural Reforms.
As a representative of the Budget Department, I would like to emphasize that the work done through these learning initiatives has greatly contributed to improving the costing methodology of structural reforms and their integration into budget documents. Every activity that is included in the ERP must remain within budgetary appropriations, leading to a higher level of implementation. Also, collaboration and communication between the Ministry of Finance and line ministries has improved.
The CEF learning initiatives increased my knowledge of structural reforms, with a focus on costing and budgeting, and I also learned about the experiences of other countries with the ERP preparation and implementation. To conclude, the CEF learning initiatives have greatly helped me and my colleagues in improving the policy-making process in Kosovo.”