Public Budgeting in African Nations: The Case of Rwanda

This chapter describes the status of public budgeting and public finance management (PFM) reforms in Rwanda. It shows that Rwanda's budgeting process and PFM reforms are dependent on national objectives such as those set out in Vision 2020 and strategic documents such as the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS). Budgeting and planning at different levels of Government and implementing agencies are enabling functions for Vision 2010 and the EDPRS. There is also strong evidence of proper linkages between budgeting and planning and of various instruments for internal and external control to increase accountability. The World Bank Central Finance Agency (WBCFA) reported that, by 2011, the Rwandan Revenue Authority (RRA) had the power both to formulate tax policies and to collect taxes. The chapter ends with a discussion of Rwanda's internal revenue collection and management systems and issues of budgetary financial reporting, and internal and external scrutiny as well as some major challenges encountered in the PFM reform processes.