SBC II – State Building Contract in Haiti

Strengthening the resilience capacities of central and local public institutions in Haiti and supporting the creation of the necessary conditions for stable, long-term, and inclusive economic growth

Strengthening and operationalising public finances reforms in Haiti

Under the 11^th European Development Fund, the European Union is assisting the Republic of Haiti through the State Building Contract II (SBC-II). The objective of this programme is to strengthen the capacity for resilience of the Haitian State in order to ensure sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

SBC-II follows on from SBC-I with the objective of strengthening and operationalising the actions to reform public finances and public administration and for education.

Two implementation methods have been defined for this programme:

• Budget support to strengthen the State, divided into several fixed and variable tranches, and including activities such as political dialogue, financial transfers, performance reviews, reporting and capacity building.

• Additional support for the technical assistance required for the reform of the State and public finances, local governance, resilience and education.

Three areas of operation to improve the management of resources and public finances in Haiti

Component A: domestic resource mobilization

Thanks to the SBC-II project domestic resource mobilization is improved (tax, customs, and local revenues):

• Tax and customs legislation is updated, completed, and made available.
• Tax and customs procedures are updated and simplified.
• Continuous training for Customs and Tax officers is strengthened to enhance their technical skills and support the implementation of new staff regulations for both administrations.
• Tax and customs administrations have modern and secure IT systems.
• Control capacities and access to customs posts are reinforced.

Component B: optimal management of state resources

Optimal management of state resources is promoted through:

• monitoring of mobilized revenues;
• improved State treasury management;
• a reinforced public procurement management system;
• significant progress in external controls and the fight against corruption.

Component C: reforms in public financial management

Through this project the government of Haiti improves its ability to implement reforms for public financial management:

• Public financial management reforms to be implemented during the reference period are adopted by the government, and the framework for monitoring their implementation is improved.
• The public financial management reforms outlined in the reference Triennial Action Plan are implemented satisfactorily. Public financial management is improved at both central and local levels, including in terms of transparency.
• Coordination between technical and financial partners and government members involved in public financial management reforms is effective.