In low income countries, government debt rose by 7 percent to 66 percent in 2020 and, since 2021, half of those countries are at high risk of debt distress or already in debt distress. Without being able to anticipate the next global crisis, there is increasing urgency to mobilize domestic resources to promote sustained economic…
This fact sheet details Chemonics’ work to build institutional and human capacity to increase domestic resource mobilization, plan and execute budgets, and monitor, evaluate, and report on budget expenditures.
Water will soon flow again in Majdel Aanjar. And for that, local residents can thank an innovative new program that harnesses the power of the sun. The small farming community in northeastern Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley — equidistant from Beirut and Damascus, the respective capitals of Lebanon and Syria — has suffered from a severe water…
Nora Kokaj is an applied economist experienced in economic policy research, public financial management, and tax policy and administration. She currently leads the public financial management improvement component of the Chemonics-implemented USAID Kosovo Economic Governance Activity. She previously served as an economic policy officer for the European Union Office in Kosovo, as well as an…
From reversing deforestation to phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, COP26’s commitments unlocked new pathways for the development community to spur climate action. However, the success of these financial and policy commitments depends on climate-vulnerable countries’ ability to attract and deploy climate finance effectively. Underdeveloped fund management systems and limited financial expertise are common roadblocks…
USAID is putting self-reliance at the core of its strategy to help countries achieve and finance their own development objectives and thereby end their need for foreign assistance. To finance self-reliance, countries will need systems that mobilize and spend public resources efficiently, enabling environments that allow the private sector to thrive, and diverse and well-regulated…
Recognized as the starting point of the Arab Spring movement, Tunisia’s 2011 revolution spurred unprecedented political and social transformation. This report highlights how USAID’s Fiscal Reform for a Strong Tunisia (FIRST) activity provided technical assistance and capacity building to the Tunisian Ministry of Finance, so that its fiscal institutions were positioned for sustainable growth following…
The Kosovo Partnerships for Development (KPD) project’s final report covers how it implemented its scope of work by completing significant reform-driven initiatives. These objectives were to improve the business environment and the implementation of construction reforms, and to enhance the country’s macroeconomic stability and public financial management (PFM) at the central and local level. Despite…
Critical to expanding and diversifying the foundation of municipal financing is meaningful, strategic engagement of the private sector. This piece offers recommendations and possible solutions to municipal officials seeking creative ways to leverage existing resources and access new ones.
In May, Chemonics, the Urban Institute, and USAID co-hosted a panel discussion and interactive breakout sessions to explore approaches for fostering commitment to more transparent, sustainable financial governance. This summit highlighted experiences and lessons from three USAID projects — including the Chemonics-implemented Fiscal Reform for a Strong Tunisia (FIRST) project — that have successfully built…
The FIRST project has used a variety of tools to improve citizens’ trust in the Ministry of Finance. FIRST created a comic book with a superhero character named Tunman to raise schoolchildren’s awareness of why the government needs to raise taxes to pay for public services and why it is a civic duty of citizens to…