Recent Africa PFM digital transparency trends

Introduction

Recent African PFM digital transparency trends were identified in our September 2020 “Improving PFM digital transparency in African finance ministries” presentation which examined the current use of digital platforms to promote PFM transparency in 45 African ministries of finance (MoFs) current use of digital platforms to promote PFM transparency. We now introduce some key results on a country by country basis.

The importance of transparency

Transparency of public finances is a key element of a public financial management (PFM) system enabling public scrutiny of government actions and intentions.  Transparency of public finances is achieved by providing information on PFM which is comprehensive, consistent, and accessible to users. The World Bank’s September 2020 report “Enhancing Government Effectiveness and Transparency – The Fight Against Corruption” has highlighted the importance of ensuring greater transparency in government operations.

Identifying PFM digital transparency trends

The following statistics were prepared to help identify the above-mentioned trends across the 45 African MoFs:

  • Country internet usage

  • MoF website visits during May/July 2020 and projected annualised visits for 2020

  • Domestic and non-resident visits to MoF websites

  • Country Facebook usage

  • MoF Facebook page follower numbers

  • Country Twitter usage

  • MoF Twitter follower numbers

Penetration levels for MoF website users, Facebook and Twitter followers were also identified to demonstrate the level of usage of these digital platforms.

Key trends

Charts showing recent trends in key PFM digital transparency indicators for the 45 African finance ministries with websites during the period May/July 2020 are available. These charts can be accessed by clicking on to the respective regional Africa country groups below:

A video presenting charts showing recent trends in key PFM digital transparency indicators for the 45 African finance ministries with websites during the period May/July 2020 is available here.

Questions?

Please contact us at team@pfmconnect.com if you have any questions about this material.