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Poverty Reduction Support CreditsMozambique acquired independence from
 Portugal in 1975. The new government adopted a policy of
 radical social change, with a command and control approach
 to economic management and a vast nationalization program.
 By the mid-1980s, the country was bankrupt, and the
 government turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
 and the World Bank to help transform it into a market
 economy. Since the early 1990s, Mozambique's Gross
 Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate has been above 7 percent
 in all but two years and has averaged 7.8 percent. Over the
 same period, inflation has trended broadly downwards from 63
 percent in 1994 to 8 percent in 2007. On the savings and
 investment front, gross investment has averaged 26.4
 percent, while domestic savings has been 8.2 percent, the
 difference being made up for with foreign savings. Fiscal
 policy has generally been well managed, with deficits
 financed by external assistance. The government managed to
 protect the 65 percent of primary expenditures going to
 priority sectors. Public investment declined as a percentage
 of GDP, as did private investment. Revenue collection
 improved. Exports grew from 10.2 percent of GDP in 1991 to
 38 percent in 2006. Over this period, a flexible exchange
 rate policy has been followed. The national poverty rate was
 69.4 percent in 1996-1997 and 54.1 percent in 2003.
 Mozambique obtained considerable fast disbursing assistance
 from the World Bank in the period 1984-2002.
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Poverty Reduction Support CreditsBenin experienced a long period of
 political instability and economic challenges after
 achieving its independence in August 1960. In 1991 a new
 government initiated far-reaching reforms aimed at the
 creation of a market-based economy, resulting in significant
 liberalization of Benin's political and economic
 system. Growth fluctuated in the range of 4-6 percent until
 2000, after which it began to trend downwards, fluctuating
 largely in response to variation in the exchange rate as
 well as to movement in the prices of cotton, Benin's
 main export, and oil, a major import. Benin benefited from
 support under the Environmental and Social Assessment
 Framework (ESAF) and Poverty Reduction and Growth (PRGF)
 facilities, the latter continuously since 1993. According to
 an independent ex-post review (International Monetary Fund
 2004), program implementation during 1993-2003 was broadly
 successful. Real economic growth averaged 5 percent and
 fiscal consolidation improved as key initial challenges
 arising from the Government's low revenue collection
 and high wage bill were addressed. But overall progress in
 structural reform was mixed. Initial efforts to liberalize
 the economy and reduce government intervention were
 successful, and there was progress in introducing
 far-reaching reforms in the cotton sector. A new poverty
 reduction growth facility was approved in August 2005.
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Republic of Burundi - Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability Review (PEMFAR) : Improving Allocative Efficiency and Governance of Public Expenditure and Investing in Public Capital to Accelerate Growth and Reduce PovertyThis report addresses key issues on macroeconomic stability, efficient allocation of public expenditures, public sector staffing, and public finance management. The fiscal sustainability analysis carried out for this report indicates that serious adjustments will be needed to improve Burundi's fiscal stance; reforms that are complicated by the challenges of rebuilding the country's social and physical infrastructure after years of conflict. The report also examines the measures necessary to establish a sound public expenditure management system aimed at promoting fiscal discipline and the efficient and effective operational performance of the public sector to ensure appropriate allocation of resources based on agreed strategic priorities, with particular attention to key economic and social sectors (education, health, and infrastructure). The report also identifies constraints to effective implementation of Public Finance Management (PFM) reforms and defines the elements of a short and medium-term action plan to overcome these constraints. The action plan matrix, prepared in close cooperation with relevant Government departments and other stakeholders operating in Burundi, proposes a set of concrete recommendations for public spending reallocations and priority reform measures.