fiscal reform and public financial management activity

USAID/ Jordan FRPFM Quarterly Report Y2 Q2, Jan 1- Mar 31, 2018

July 2008 1

Fiscal Reform and Public Financial Management Activity

Quarterly Progress Report Period–January 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018

Submission Date: April ,2018 Contract Number: AID-OAA-I-12-00036-01 Task Order Number: AID-278-TO-16-00002-00 Contract/Agreement Period: April 04, 2016 to September 29, 2020 COR/AOR Name: Kail Padgitt Submitted by: Richard Laliberte, Chief of Party

Deloitte Consulting, LLC Email: [email protected] This document was produced for review and approval by the United States Agency for International Development / Jordan (USAID/Jordan).


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CONTENTS

Contents ........................................................................................................................ i

Acronyms ..................................................................................................................... ii

Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1

Activity Summary ...................................................................................................... 2

Component 1: Revenue Performance through Improved Tax Policy and Administration................................................................................................. 10

Component 2: Budget Efficiency and Transparency ........................................ 13

Component 3: Fiscal Sustainability through Structural Reform..................... 26

Component 4: Exit Strategy .................................................................................. 34

Annexes ..................................................................................................................... 40

Annex I Indicator Performance Tracking Table (Q2-2018) .......................................... 40


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ACRONYMS

Acronyms Description AB Audit Bureau ACCA Association of Chartered Certified Accountants AMELP Activity Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan BI Budget Institutions CCMS Collection Case Management System CEP Community Engagement Project CIT Corporate Income Tax COA Chart of Accounts COP Chief of Party CYPRESS Capacity-Performance-Results-Sustainability DG Director General DLS Department of Lands and Survey DM Debt Management DOS Department of Statistics DQA Data Quality Assessment DR Disaster Recovery EBS E-Business Suite EDE Economic Development and Energy EFF Extended Fund Facility ESC Economic and Social Council EU European Union FD Fiscal Decentralization FDU Fiscal Decentralization Unit FCCL Financial Commitments & Contingent Liabilities FI Financial Institute FRPFM Fiscal Reform and Public Financial Management GBD General Budget Department GDP Gross Domestic Product GFMIS Government Financial Management Information System GFS Government Financial Statistic GFSM Government Financial Statistics Manual GOJ Government of Jordan GRB Gender Responsive Budgeting GU Government Units HFG Health Finance and Governance Activity HICD Human and Institutional Capacity Development HRD Human Resource Development


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Acronyms Description IMF International Monetary Fund IPSAS International Public Sector Accounting Standards ISTD Income Sales Tax Directorate IU Independent Units JCP Jordan Competitiveness Program JNCW Jordanian National Commission for Women KPIs Key Performance Indicators LDU Local Development Unit LENS Local Enterprise Support Project LOE Level of Effort M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MEL Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning MFU Macro Fiscal Unit MoE Ministry of Education MoF Ministry of Finance MoF/RR Ministry of Finance Revenue Department MoI Ministry of Interior MoICT Ministry of Information and Communication Technology MoJ Ministry of Justice MoL Ministry of Labor MoPPA Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs MoPSD Ministry of Public Sector Development MoSD Ministry of Social Development MTFF Medium Term Financial Framework NDI National Democratic Institute NGO Non-governmental Organization OBL Organic Budget Law OECD Organization for Economic cooperation and Development OJT On-the-Job Training PAD Public Accounts Department PAYE Pay As You Earn PFM Public Financial Management PIM Public Investment Management PIRS Performance Indicator Reference Sheet PMO Project Management Office PPD Public-Private Dialogue PPP Public-Private Partnership QCIPI Quality Control and Institutional Performance Improvement


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Acronyms Description RFAs Request for Assistance RFC Regional Financial Centers RFP Request for Proposal ROB Results Oriented Budget SEPD Studies and Economic Policy Directorate SG Secretary General SLT Sustainable Learning Transformation SMEs Subject Matter Experts SOE State Owned Enterprises TA Technical Assistance TADAT Tax administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool TIN Tax Identification Number TOR Terms of Reference TOT Training of Trainers TSA Treasury Single Account USAID United States Agency for International Development


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INTRODUCTION

With support from USAID, Jordan has made considerable progress toward a stable public financial management (PFM) framework. A Government Financial Management Information System has been rolled out to all ministries, the tax system has been improved, a new PPP Law has been implemented, non-tax revenue collections have increased, and operational expenditures have been rationalized. These reforms are helping Jordan’s progress towards fiscal stability. However, lack of political stability in neighboring countries, refugee waves and fluctuations in global oil prices directly impact Jordan. Jordan’s response and adaptation to fiscal shocks and external economic pressures has been slow and their capacity in addressing economic and fiscal challenges remain limited; the base of fiscal policy formulation needs further strengthening and many processes and systems need further improvements. Public finance indicators show the fiscal situation is unstable as the chronic budget deficit and the public debt are high, the buoyancy of the tax system is not in line with government spending requirements, and expenditure priorities do not optimize growth of the economy. The FRPFM activity aims to advance PFM reforms to forge a new path and approach to serve as a catalyst for structural change in the way Jordan views PFM and economic reforms. At the same time, the FRPFM is assisting the government of Jordan to meet the IMF Extended Fund Facility conditionality. FRPFM designed the approach to minimize the future need for external assistance to drive reforms. In order to pave the way for a viable exit strategy, the Project is working on internal capacity building in all areas of focus to ensure that MoF staff are capable of regularly assessing their own performance, develop reform plans and execute them on their own with minimal external assistance, which eventually will lead to a culture of sustainable reform. With a goal to improve fiscal stability and to enhance budget transparency, the FRPFM activities are organized in the following four components: Component 1: Revenue performance improved through effective tax policy and administration. This will be achieved by: (i) improved taxpayer registration, services, audit, collections and the management of arrears; (ii) the solicitation and incorporation of taxpayer feedback; and (iii) high quality tax policy analysis, legal drafting, and tax statistics. Component 2: Budget efficiency and transparency improved, including a focus on gender-responsive budgeting. This will be achieved by: (i) stronger Government of Jordan (GoJ) expenditure controls and auditing, and improved result-oriented government activities; (ii) more transparent public financial management (PFM) practices; and (iii) increased GoJ adoption of public-private partnerships (PPP) initiatives, up and beyond the energy and water sectors and capacity to implement and oversee such projects. Component 3: Fiscal sustainability increased through structural reforms. This will be achieved by: (i) improved fiscal policy formulation and execution; (ii) fiscal management at the governorate levels; (iii) increased public-private dialogue and outreach; and (iv) improved management of IT and reputational risk at the Department of Lands and Surveys (DLS). Component 4: An exit strategy executed, whereby the GoJ has the capability to continue to assess and improve its fiscal and PFM practices upon the completion of FRPFM. This will be achieved by: (i) institutional maturity assessments and action planning; (ii) sustainable learning based in the needs of the organization; and (iii) the monitoring, evaluation and learning of progress against action plans. With the collaboration of counterparts: MoF, ISTD, GBD, PPP Unit, DLS and AB, and with the coordination of USAID projects and other donors, FRPFM relies on international and national experts with


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experience in the field of economic analysis, public finance, accounting, PPP and strategic planning. FRPFM is a 4.5 years USAID program, started in April 2016 and scheduled to end in September 2020.

ACTIVITY SUMMARY

During the period of January 1, 2018 to March 31, 2018, the FRPFM Activity implemented an ambitious work plan initiating important structural reforms in line with the US Government Conditions Precedent (CP) and the IMF program for Jordan, and in coordination with other donors. The Project supported the MoF in achieving the CPs of publishing 6 Government Unit financial statements on the MoF website and contracting to or finalizing 4 PPP project feasibility studies. The Project also proposed 30 measures to improve cash forecasting and cash management. During this Quarter, the FRPFM organized the fiscal decentralization conference entitled “Way Forward for Fiscal Decentralization 2018” to promote dialogue between the National Government and the Governorates. The conference was organized under the patronage of the Minister of Finance and attended by representatives of ministries involved in decentralization, representatives of municipal and governorate councils from all 12 governorates, governors, donor organizations and other USAID implementing partners. The conference gave the opportunity for a panel of six government officials to respond directly to governorate concerns with the governorate budget preparation process as well as budget planning and implementation. One of main outcomes of this conference was a declaration by the MOF that governorates will constitute a separate chapter in the annual budget law by 2020. The conference also provided an opportunity for governorates and the national government to exchange views on challenges and a way forward on continued fiscal decentralization in Jordan.

Fiscal Decentralization Conference:

(From left to right) Deputy Director of the DRG office /USAID, Director of the DRG office /USAID, Acting USAID Mission Director, The Minister of Finance, The Minister of Interior, The SG of The Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs and The SG of the Ministry of

Finance


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Tax Policy Improvements. The FRPFM team worked extensively with ISTD and MoF staff, and the Minister of Finance to elaborate and refine an income tax reform package that has been discussed with the Prime Minister and the IMF. This involved identifying measures to improve the tax system, undertaking policy analysis, revenue estimates, and recommending draft legislation. Over 30 measures were identified that aim to enhance tax compliance, improve fairness of the system, and increase revenues to meet IMF Extended Fund Facility (EFF) commitments. Financial Investigation Department. In response to a request from the Minister of Finance, the Project team worked closely with ISTD and MoF staff to develop options for the establishment of a financial investigation department (FID) at the Ministry of Finance. The establishment of this department is expected to play a critical role in combating tax fraud. To this end, the Project developed options and recommendations for an income tax amendment and draft by-law to establish the unit, and for an organizational structure, staffing compliment and position descriptions. A final draft of the FID by-law was submitted to the MOF to be integrated to the tax package. Tax Administration. The Project pursued the implementation of tax administration reform initiatives that aim to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of the major functions of the ISTD. During this Quarter, the project supported completion of a number of tax projects such as PAYE and Collection Case Management System (CCMS), e-refunds that simplifies and accelerate the procedure for obtaining overpaid tax, online TIN certificate and tax clearance aimed at streamlining various tax compliance processes. The Project assisted the ISTD in organizing a public awareness workshop to promote new and enhanced electronic services provided by the ISTD at King Hussein Business Park. Capacity Development. The Project continued to implement the CYPRESS capacity building methodology across all components. Progress update meetings and workshops were organized with ISTD, SEPD, PPP Unit, and the Budget execution directorates to finalize their action plans and monitor implementation of the projects derived from CYPRESS activities. A report was developed that documents the framework, proceedings, results, challenges, and recommendations for a successful continuation. Risk Management and Cybersecurity. The Project supported the new priority area of risk management in the Ministry of Finance (MoF), advising the Ministry’s risk management committee on the roles and responsibilities of the committee in improving risk management in the various MOF departments based on international leading practices. The Project developed and submitted the terms of reference (TOR) to establish a cybersecurity directorate at the Department of Lands and Survey (DLS) and cybersecurity policies to enhance information security across DLS. PPP. The Project supported the GoJ, through the MoF PPP Unit, to develop a government wide PPP program, through which the government will tap into the private sector for funding, managerial, and technical capacity in constructing and operating much needed infrastructure and in providing government services more efficiently. The Project also completed Phase I of the implementation of a PPP Database that will now, in Phase II, be expanded to also include World Bank determined criteria necessary to identify, record, monitor and manage PPP related financial commitments and contingent liabilities (FCCL). The Project focused on institutional and capacity building, and in supporting the PPP Unit and contracting authorities (line ministries, local governments and other government institutions) in assessing, evaluating, and undertaking prefeasibility assessments and studies of potential PPP projects. As of the end of the Quarter, there were ten registered, and PPP Council approved projects, eight projects in the pre-application assessment stage and six projects either put on hold or terminated as a result of not meeting the value for money, affordability, and sustainability conditions.


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Government Units. The Project developed a strategy to reclassify Government Units that perform central government functions into the central government for budget preparation and execution purposes. The strategy was discussed with the Minister of Finance who then requested that a letter be drafted for him to send to the Prime Minister. Government Budgeting. The Project supported the GBD to further deepen Results Oriented Budgeting (ROB) in the GoJ by carrying out four workshops to introduce ministries to the KPI methodology that GBD is using to assess performance information in the budget. During the Quarter, GBD leadership requested that all budget analysts produce a performance report for Q4 2017 for each ministry by using the performance review approach and the reporting template developed and piloted by the Project. To this end, the Project provided coaching to each analyst and sector lead during review, analysis and drafting process. These ministry-level reports will provide the key inputs for a whole-of-government performance report that GBD desires to produce for Parliament. IPSAS Implementation. The Project achieved 100% success rate with the first group of 17 candidates from MoF to achieve ACCA IPSAS certification. All of the MoF candidates successfully achieved ACCA IPSAS certification. This encouraged the project to plan to deliver training to 4 other groups through the end of this year. In addition, the Project conducted several training sessions with the IPSAS PMO to build their capabilities in defining GoJ’s reporting & economic entities as per IPSAS requirements. The Project also assisted the MoF in the preparation of a request for proposal (RFP) to enable the MoF to contract an implementing partner to develop the next-generation IPSAS-compliant accrual GFMIS. Fiscal Policy Analysis. The Project supported the SEPD in preparing estimates of tax expenditures for 2016 which were published within the 2018 general budget and supported the SEPD in building a revenue forecasting model. GFMIS. Working with the MoF and the GFMIS Directorate, the Project supported an expanded use of the GFMIS to improve the Government of Jordan’s public financial management (PFM). This entailed the incorporation of processes to, expedite the recording of financial data of Government Units (GU) into GFMIS; expedite the recording of revenues into GFMIS; and ultimately produce both the budget book and the GoJ’s year-end financial statement (the final accounts) through GFMIS. Fiscal Decentralization. The Project supported the Ministry of Finance in advancing fiscal decentralization activities, preparing and presenting to the Minister of Finance and the leadership of the ministry an important document “Towards improved decentralization governance and accountability”. The document provides an approach and the basis for a dialogue within the central government and with key implementers to pursue fiscal decentralization in the governorates. It was agreed that the Ministry will coordinate with the decentralization inter-ministerial executive committee for decentralization to discuss and present this document in the next quarter. During this Quarter, the Project also focused on providing technical support to the FDU such as drafting the Governorate Councils financial instructions, updating the fiscal decentralization action plan for 2018 and organized the fiscal decentralization conference that will open a dialogue between the government and the governorates regarding fiscal decentralization. The Project assisted the GoJ and the MoF in determining the expenditure assignments that can be transferred to governorates. Project Leadership. The strong working relationships that have been developed between the MoF leadership and the Project team members are key to the success of the project. FRPFM team members met on average twice a month with HE Minister of Finance, Mr. Omar Malhas. Project team members also had regular meetings with the Secretary General (SG), Dr. Ezzedine Kanakrieh, the Assistant (SGs) Mr. Hussam Abu Ali and Dr. Hazem Khasawneh, Director General of ISTD Mr. Bashar Saber, Director General of GBD


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Dr. Mohammad Al Hazaimeh, and the Director General of Department of Lands and Survey Mr. Mouen Sayegh. Team members also met almost daily with the Director of the PPP Unit Osama Suleiman and provided ongoing on-the-job training to PPP staff that was then passed on to the contracting authorities. The PPP Unit undertook its first self-initiated training program of a Contracting Authority (Greater Amman Municipality) that has four PPP projects in various stages of development under the new PPP Law and Regulations. Sustainability. In response to a USAID request, the Project met with the USAID leadership three times to review the approach that the FRPFM has taken to build the capacities of the Ministry of Finance and to reduce over time dependency on technical assistance and to discuss the project views on the level of sustainability that the ministry has achieved. Project leadership shared with USAID two notes and one presentation that describe the Project’s achievements toward sustainability, and main weaknesses or challenges at the MoF is confronted with to ensure strong capacities in achieving fiscal stability and developing and implementing the economic and fiscal policies that are required to accelerate growth and and improve the financial situation. The discussion with USAID focused on the core PFM challenges and priority actions to address them. The FRPFM team showed that the fiscal and economic situation in Jordan has not yet stabilized as total expenditures as percentage of domestic revenues is still in excess of 120% which means that the GoJ still need to initiate measures to increase revenues and better control expenditures. On the management front, several challenges still facing the sustainability targets at the MoF. The ministry needs to review and improve its organization structure and eliminate the overlaps between its main functions, and to attract, retain and promote strong candidates to meet its mission. The discussion also covered issues such as the need for the MoF to fully use all GFMIS functions and to rely less on legacy systems, the need for the ministry to improve is internal accounting capacities to introduce IPSAS and accrual accounting, the need for GBD to improve its analytical capacities to better analyze and formulate government spending priorities, and the need to rectify ISTD IT deficiencies. Donor Coordination. Team members have also been coordinating closely with representatives of the World Bank Group (including the IFC), the IMF, and other donors and projects involved with PFM activities. The type of issues being discussed include prioritizing project activities; reviewing and discussing planned approaches; helping identify, discuss and address challenges and risks; obtaining policy directions on how to proceed in addressing matters of importance; and in identifying and securing PPP project development funding. The FRPFM collaboration with counterparts led to the following achievements during the Quarter: Component 1: Revenue performance through improved tax policy and administration Tax Administration • Completed the majority of Year One planned tax projects and started year 2 work planning with ISTD. • Assisted ISTD in developing the PAYE forms and guide. • Made ISTD website design and content more appealing and user-friendly. • Helped ISTD in getting employee income tax returns to be submitted electronically -- “In the first

quarter of 2018, 32,255 tax returns were filed online, compared to 3,007 in the same period in 2017”. • Supported improvements to the implementation of E-Payments. Payments of 3,000 JD or more, are

now required to be made through the E-Payment system -- “In the first quarter of 2018, tax payments made electronically reached 562 million JD comparted to 25 million JD for the same period in 2017”.


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• Supported the ISTD in producing tax clearances electronically, and providing taxpayers to receive a clearance letter electronically

• Assisted the ISTD in completing the implementation of the wage withholding and reporting system PAYE.

• Supported the implementation of the Collection Case Management System (CCMS), including in field offices.

• Supported the implementation of the Automated Non-Filer System (ANS). • Through the project grant mechanism, developed a tutorial video on the e-filing process along with an

awareness video for the three types of taxpayers (i.e. employees, individuals, and corporate) • Prepared a tax dispute assessment study and presented the findings to the Director General. • Provided recommendations to the ISTD in improving its risk management processes. • Provided a 3-day course on risk management to around 45 ISTD employees. • Reviewed the GST refunds mechanism and recommend improvements. • Drafted a document related to e-invoicing with a conclusion that ISTD does not have adequate

infrastructure or capacity to establish an e-invoicing processing at this time. • Supported the development of recommendations to improve the call center. • Assisted in undertaking a Training Needs Assessment (TNA). • Developed a tax administration reform paper, tackling areas such as collection, audit, and registration.

Tax Policy • Supported the Minister of Finance in developing and finalizing the tax package to be discussed with

the Prime Minister and the IMF. • Assisted in preparing the legislation and the tax impacts of the various tax measures under

consideration. • Prepared documentation that can be used to explain the tax package to the Jordan Parliament and to

Jordanian citizens. • Finalized and translated draft Financial Investigation Department by-law, which was submitted to the

MOF for further review and consideration. • Advanced the development of a Tax Modernization Strategy Paper for Jordan that could be used to

initiate the next phase for tax modernization. • Made several scenarios on CIT revenue calculations in the light of different tax rates. Component 2: Budget efficiency and transparency improved, including a focus on gender-responsive budgeting Stronger GoJ auditing practices and result-oriented government • Completed the training of trainers’ course participant guide on concepts of internal audit. • Trained representatives from 35 ministries on the KPI assessment model. • Provided on-the-job training to each budget analyst and sector lead on the performance review and

reporting process with the goal of producing a Ministry-Level Performance Report for Q4 2017 for each ministry.

• Drafted guidance for GBD leadership on the recommended review, approval and dissemination process for the Ministry-Level Quarterly Performance Reports

• Developed a Sector-Level Quarterly Performance Report template • Created two Government of Jordan Annual Performance Report templates reflecting GBD

requirements and international leading practice.


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More transparent PFM practices implemented • Certified 17 GoJ staff in ACCA IPSAS. • Provided on the job capacity building to MoF staff for mapping the current chart of accounts to an

accrual chart of accounts. • Provided on the job capacity building to PMO staff for implementing IPSAS control concept to

identify GoJ’s reporting & economic entities. • Established an interface between the ISTD system and GFMIS for efficient recording of tax revenue;

MoF now poised to use the experience to interface with other revenue-generating institutions (Department of Lands and Survey, Customs, Justice, Interior, etc.).

• Supported MoF in developing 5 accounting policies & assets stock take procedure in line with IPSAS requirements.

• Identified 34 processes for improving cash management. Began process to develop quarterly budget reviews.

Increased GoJ adoption of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) • Supported contracting authorities in assessing over four additional potential PPP projects prior to or

following PPP Application approval to determine on a preliminary basis, the “value for money”, “budget affordability” and “sustainability” and therefore in determining whether additional resources should be invested in the development/preparation of specific projects as a PPPs. These PPP projects included the following;

o Al albeit University Student Hostels, Faculty Housing and Commercial Development, o Queen Alia Military Medical Hospital Parking and Commercial Development, o Al Basheer and Zarqa Hospital Dialysis Wings, and o 15 Schools

• Added three approved and pre-approved expected viable projects to the PPP pipeline, while freezing or terminating the investment of additional project development resources into one other pipeline projects. These PPP projects included the following;

o Amman Flower & Plant Auction o Amman Fruit & Vegetable Wholesale Market o Truck City (put on hold)

• Supported the PPP Unit and line ministries in identifying over in additional GoJ budget, grants (EBRD, IFC, and the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation) and soft loans to finance the development (feasibility and sustainability studies and transaction advising) of potential PPP projects.

• Increased the PPP Unit’s capacity, through on the job training and other capacity building efforts, to provide support to the PPP Council and better assist the Contracting Authorities in assessing and developing potential PPPs.

• Completed Phase I of the PPP Database (included developing, launching and populating the database) and continue to work with the PPP Unit and World Bank in implementing Phase II, which will entail expanding the database to also include information necessary for identifying, recording, monitoring and managing PPP related financial commitments and contingent liabilities (FCCL).

Component 3: Fiscal sustainability through structural reforms Macro-Economic • Updated and upgraded the comprehensive Macro-Fiscal Database to be used in policy research and

fiscal policy formulation by the SEPD. • Prepared a first draft of tax expenditures booklet. • Worked with the SEPD on updating the monthly revenue forecasting model.


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• Worked with SEPD staff on building a simulation model for measuring the impact of policy changes on tax revenues.

• Continued on-the-job training with SEPD staff, especially on the area of simulation policy changes and forecasting revenue developments and on macroeconomic concepts and indicators.

• Prepared a paper on recent developments of public revenues to be included within the tax modernization study.

• Worked with SEPD on updating and running the Macro-economic model. • Prepared two research papers covering the following areas (1) assessment of national accounts data

prepared by the DOS. (2) evaluation of the GDP data and its calculation. • Prepared a note analyzing cash subsidies program implemented by the government and providing

recommendations. • Supported the work of FRPFM team on preparing a tax modernization study. • Continued the periodic follow up and monitoring of SEPD’s implementation of its action plans. Fiscal Decentralization • Organized the fiscal decentralization conference “Way forward for fiscal decentralization 2018” under

the patronage of the Minister of Finance. • Prepared document titled “Towards improved decentralization governance and accountability” and

discussed it with the Minister and senior MoF staff to assist the GoJ in setting the path for towards better implementation of decentralization in Jordan.

• Provided training to the FDU to support the unit in better understanding good practices in fiscal decentralization.

• Assisted the FDU in tracking line ministries current expenditures at governorates level and identify the challenges facing line ministries in recording these expenses at governorates.

PPD and Communication • Conducted two-day communication training workshop for the communication head and team of MoF,

PPP, SEPD, ISTD, GBD and DLS to enhance the participants understanding on best practices of an effective media office and to strengthen participants skills in effective writing and presentation technique and news analysis.

• Conducted communication training for the PPP unit attended by the PPP Director, Head of Projects Division and Head of Communication to enhance their skills in effective communication including message crafting, speech and presentation technique skills.

• Developed Communication Action Plan for the PPP unit which identifies the priority communication needs of the unit.

• Conducted three PPD events in Amman, Irbid and Karak. Attended by a total of 99 participants from the public and private sector. Final report was developed to highlight the outcomes of the research and the conducted PPDs.

• Presented the Communication Assessment findings, recommendations and proposed plan to the MoF Minister, SG and ASGs to ensure concurrence of the leadership on the proposed communication activities.

• Developed scope for collaboration with the Jordan Media Institute in conducting the Journalist training. Grants • Implementing two grants, one for Public Private Dialogue (PPD), and one for Promoting E-Services

for the Income and Sales Tax Department (ISTD). • Issued RFA for Support of Fiscal or Economic Policy Research Center and prepared award package

for one applicant.


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• Developed an RFA on Public Expenditure Analysis on Public Programs Supporting Gender Equality in Jordan.

Department of Lands and Survey • Provided DLS top management and DLS business transformation committee with a detailed description

on 3 business transformation priority activities to be implemented at DLS, the priority activities are 1-Stop-Shop, Land Administration Domain Model (ISO 19152) standard, Customer Experience Training.

• Delivered all Cybersecurity policies and trained DLS security officer on all policies and standards. • Identified 7 security policies to be implemented at DLS as a first phase, until Cybersecurity units are

established and staffed. • Working with DLS IT Directorate, to develop an electronic interface between DLS and GFMIS for

revenue recording at DLS. Risk Management • Conducted a second meeting with the Executive Risk Committee (ERC), and presented an analysis for

the Risk Assessment Survey results, Roles and Responsibilities for both executive risk committee and risk management team at DLS.

• Trained DLS risk management team on risk management and how to identify risks which affects their operational objectives and presented top 10 identified risks for the risk management committee.

• Worked with DLS risk management team to extend their risk registry by refining identified risks and by identify risks categories.

Component 4: Exit Strategy Exit Strategy • Monitored the CYPRESS implementation progress with ISTD, PPP, Budget Execution, and the SEPD

with increased involvement from counterparts’ teams. • Developed ISTD Year Two performance improvement action plan. • Developed the MoF PFM sustainability status report for 2017-2018 • Finalized the Budget Execution TOTP with 8 competent instructors ready to deliver professional

training in Cash Management, Internal Audit, and Professional Communication Skills. • Developed and delivered training in ISTD Risk Management, Fiscal Decentralization Concepts, IPSAS

Certification, and Training of Trainers for the IPSAS PMO, and Communication Skills. • Developed the Tax Policy Directorate structure. Monitoring and Evaluation • Finalized and submitted AMELP for Project Year Two. • Uploaded performance indicators in DevResults for Annual 2017, and Q4 2017. Project Management • Held weekly coordinating meetings with the USAID COR to discuss and review FRPFM activities and

administrative matters to be resolved and submitted monthly meeting reports documenting the minutes of all USAID COR coordinating meetings.

• Participated in several coordinating meetings with USAID economic and fiscal reform implementers. • Updated Project forecast and briefed COR on state of Project finances and recommended adjustments. • Submitted Annual Reports, Financial Report, and Quarterly Accruals. • Submitted Year Two Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Plan.


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COMPONENT 1: REVENUE PERFORMANCE THROUGH IMPROVED TAX POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION During this Quarter, the FRPFM Project provided continuing support to the MOF and ISTD in the areas of tax policy and administration. The Project assisted the ISTD in identifying new reform projects aimed at enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of the tax administration in areas such as registration, audit, collection, taxpayer service, refunds, and improved communication. In line with the IMF program for Jordan, the FRPFM Activity helped to develop and quantify a set of tax policy recommendations aimed at improving tax compliance, combat tax evasion, expand the tax base and improve the structure of the tax system. Policy advice also included the development of concept papers to establish a financial investigation unit, making updates to the tax expenditures estimates for 2017, producing revenue impact analysis, handling the joint venture projects and reforming the entire tax system. The following sections provide further detail on each component activity. 1.1 Tax Administration FRPFM assisted the ISTD in benchmarking its current state of development compared with its desired future state using CYPRESS methodology. From that effort, new areas of reform were identified, to be followed by a series of action plans to bridge the gaps identified in the benchmarking exercise and based on the results of a TADAT review conducted by IMF, and the GoJ’s Vision 2025 Document. In November 2017, FRPFM supported the ISTD in identifying new projects to address critical areas for improvement. The projects completed so far are as described below: 1. On-line issuance of Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Certificates and Tax Clearance

Certificates: E-TIN Certificates will increase efficiency in issuing TINs and reduce time for businesses to register. The on-line clearance letters allow taxpayers to request clearance letters indicating that they have satisfied their tax obligations through an on-line process that prevents their having to visit a tax office and spend time in queues going from one desk to another.

The process includes electronic verification that all tax obligations have been met, removing the human element that has often allowed clearances in situations when tax obligations were not fully satisfied. On-line tax clearance certificates are complete and rolled out nationwide. The on-line TIN Certificate is already complete and in use.

2. Automated Non-Filer Project: ISTD activity on non-filers was determined to be ineffective and somewhat haphazard without adequate controls, resulting in increasing non-compliance. With FRPFM assistance, automation of the non-filer program is complete for income tax taxpayers. This program provides a structured approach to income tax non-filer cases and ensures that timely actions are taken to address taxpayer non-filing. The program has been piloted and rolled out nationwide in December, with an inventory of 28,000 income tax non-filers. The project will be expanded to include GST non-filers in 2018.

3. Collection Case Management System (CCMS) Project: This project will put in place an automated collection case management system (CCMS). Through CCMS, ISTD debt management staff will have a more structured process for dealing with its inventory of taxpayers with tax debts. Under CCMS, all collection employees are responsible for taking actions to resolve the debt with the system tracking case progress and providing alternatives for the next action needed. All collection employees are being trained in use of the system and their revised responsibilities. The system has been piloted at the LTO and rolled out nationwide.


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4. E-filing and E-Payment Project: Uptake of e-filing and e-payment has been very slow in Jordan. In late May, ISTD mandated that all payments over JOD 5,000 be made through the e-payment system, which has been fully implemented and most tax revenues (by value) are now being submitted electronically. In October, implementation of the USAID-funded e-services promotion grant started to increase the use of e-filing.

Substantial increase in e-filing is expected for 2017 taxes filed in 2018. While it is expected that e-filing of business returns will increase in 2018 (particularly LTO returns), primary emphasis is on increasing the number of returns e-filed by employees. Based on ISTD’s statistics, e-filers in 2018 are estimated to be around 70,000 by reference to the number of users who already have usernames and passwords. As of January 1, 2018, ISTD started to accept payments over JD 3,000 electronically only.

5. Electronic refunds: The current process of issuing refunds in Jordan is inefficient, requiring over 10 signatures, and delays receipt by taxpayers. The electronic refund process has been piloted and refunds can be deposited in the taxpayer bank account within 5 days after it has been approved. The number of signatures has been significantly reduced thus also reducing cost of refund issuance.

Electronic refunds will be ready for the 2018 filing season (filing of 2017 returns). Significant effort has been made in obtaining taxpayer IBAN numbers for processing the refunds electronically. ISTD is now requesting refund applicants to provide their IBAN numbers of their accounts on their tax returns.

6. Disaster Recovery System: – ISTD had no plan for disaster recovery (DR) in the event that some catastrophe destroys ISTD data or systems. Government funding for the site has now been identified and a potential site identified. FRPFM expert finished analysis and recommendations the week of 26 October. The USAID activity support will constitute the basis that will allow the ISTD to issue Request for Proposal and to select a vendor to implement this project in 2018. Moreover, FRPFM provided assistance in the form of technical specifications for the DR system and made recommendations of possible scenarios.

Below is an updated schedule showing the status of all CYPRESS projects as reported by ISTD.

CYPRESS PROJECTS No. Project Description Progress to Completion (based on

ISTD data) 1 E-registration 64% 2 E-clearance and e-TIN 100% 3 Integration with third party information 53% 4 Audit case selection and risk management 38% 5 Non-filer tracking program 100% 6 PAYE control system & tax calculator 95% 7 Collection Case Management System (CCMS) 100% 8 E-filing and e-payment 100% 9 3rd-party information gathering and processing 50% 10 Website and call center improvements 94% 11 Electronic refunds 100% 12 Dashboard and ISTD strategy 78% 13 Disaster recovery plan 84%

ISTD CYPRESS Projects


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During the Quarter, FRPFM has also focused on other activities, including the following: • Assisted to improve interface between ISTD and GFMIS for more accuracy in reporting revenues; • Assisted Debt Management to develop a process for identifying uncollectible debts to be removed from

the active database so that work is concentrated on active debts (approximately in old, uncollectible debt will be removed when the process is completed).

• Held workshops on risk management, strategic planning, CYPRESS implementation, and compliance risk management.

• Assisted the ISTD in putting in place a set of recommendations for improving tax compliance. • Developed a draft competency survey to identify training needs for ISTD staff, which will be translated

into training plan with training courses and curricula. • Analyzed the effectiveness and efficiency of the appeal process at ISTD. • Conducted a thorough analysis of the ISTD MIS system and made recommendations on possible

scenarios to upgrade the current system. 1.2 Tax Policy Development of an income tax reform program continued to be a priority of the Minister of Finance during the Quarter. In response to a request of the Minister of Finance, the project team assisted the Minister in assessing over thirty-two (32) corporate and personal income tax policy measures. FRPFM assisted the Minister of Finance, MoF and ISTD in developing policy options, analyzing the distributional and financial impacts of measures, recommending draft legislation to implement the measures and developing and preparing information materials for disseminating these changes. These measures have been presented by the Minister to the IMF and they are now under review by the GoJ. FRPFM also developed a concept paper for a Financial Investigation Department and discussed it with the Minister of Finance. Based on that discussion, the project team developed recommendations for the establishment of the Department under the draft income tax law. The new department will be responsible for gathering information from a variety of sources, identifying possible violations of income tax, customs, procurement, and property registration laws and regulations. The new department would be authorized to investigate the violations and recommend prosecution of the offenders. The project team developed recommendations for governing bylaws, organizational structure, and FID position descriptions. The FRPFM has also been supporting the MoF and SEPD improve their capacities to assess and evaluate tax measures. The project team assisted SEPD in updating the expenditure estimates that were published in the 2018 budget. In response to a request from the Minister, the Project examined ways to strengthen the income and sales taxation of electronic commerce. The project recommendations factored in the latest OECD developments on this front. Policy options and recommendations were presented to the Minister by the project team. Two more initiatives were undertaken by FRPFM; one to deal with the issue of venture capital, the other to develop recommendations to introduce changes to the administration of sales tax. Planned activities for the following Quarter Tax Administration • Support the ISTD in finalizing the current CYPRESS projects. • Support the ISTD in identifying and planning for new projects for Year 2. • Monitor the implementation of the e-service promotional campaign.


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• Assist ISTD in finalizing the collection manual. • Support ISTD in making further improvements to the website and call center operations. • Introduce further improvements to the registration procedures. • Develop a roadmap for electronic services on mobile devices. • Expand e-registration for individuals. • Collaborate with ISTD in making recommendation to clean-up the taxpayer registry. • Prepare the specifications for software to handle taxpayer incoming calls. • Identify, conduct and document audit processes for targeted sectors. • Propose appeal quality control process and procedures. • Provide support to develop the archiving system. • Implement a competency survey to develop training needs analysis for ISTD staff. • Conduct customer feedback survey of ISTD taxpayers. • Develop a proposal for establishing an ISTD training center. • Work with ISTD in putting in place a plan for implementing the proposed tax package. Tax Policy • Continue technical assistance to MoF SEPD unit and ISTD research unit by building their capacity in

conducting and analyzing tax policy research and studies. • Provide advice on the implementation of the proposed measures to improve tax compliance, combat

tax evasion, expand the tax base, and improve the structure of the tax system. • Provide advice on drafting income tax subsidiary legislations and implementing the income tax law. • Work with the ISTD and MoF on developing and implementing the draft tax reform package for 2018-

2020 to meet the MTFF conditionality. • Finalize the proposal to deal with the venture capital projects. • Revise the sales tax administration of tax payments and audits. • Develop recommendations for putting in place a tax policy department. COMPONENT 2: BUDGET EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY

During the Quarter, the Project worked with the General Budget Department and all MoF Budget Execution Directorates. To scale-up the adoption of the KPI assessment model, the Project conducted four workshops for representatives from 35 ministries. The budget analysts and sector leads working with these ministries also participated in the workshops. It is anticipated that these workshops will be a key step towards increasing communication and collaboration between GBD analysts and ministry representatives on improving performance information going into the 2019 budget preparation process. The project continued intensive training of the IPSAS PMO and other OF staff. This training culminated in 17 candidates (100%) obtaining ACCA IPSAS certification. In addition, the project conducted several capacity building activities for the members of the IPSAS PMO in the area of control concept implementation that affect GoJ’s consolidation scope. On the GFMIS front, the Project is championing the use of GFMIS to produce both the budget book and (the GoJ’s year-end financial statement, i.e. the final accounts. The Project is also championing the development of an interface for revenue information from the Department of Lands and Survey (DLS) and GFMIS, with more interfaces to come.


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As of the end of the quarter, the GoJ had not offered any major edits to the GFMIS 2 request for proposal (RFP) submitted last quarter. Therefore, until the GoJ is ready to publish the RFP to contract the development of the next-generation GFMIS, this task is complete. The Project also continued to improve the capacity of the PPP Unit, build the PPP project pipeline, develop PPP projects, complete the draft PPP Guidelines in English, and support the PPP Unit in populating the recently completed PPP database. The following sections provide further detail on the Component 2 activities. 2.1 Stronger GoJ auditing practices and result-oriented government The Project continued to work with the GBD budget analysts and sector leads to develop and implement a KPI assessment model. During the period, the Project conducted four workshops with the representatives of 35 ministries with their respective GBD budget analyst and sector lead. These workshops presented both the KPI assessment methodology as well as provided opportunities for ministry representatives to work collaboratively with their budget analyst through group exercises. It is anticipated that budget analysts will complete the review of their ministry’s performance information with their ministry representatives in preparation for the 2019 budget. During the Quarter, the Project made progress in strengthening the methods and tools used to report on government performance in four key ways. Firstly, the Project provided on-the-job coaching to all budget analysts and sector leads to apply the performance review methodology and draft a Ministry-Level Performance Report for Q4 2017. Secondly, the Project drafted guidance on the recommended process for reviewing, approving, and disseminating performance reports, including a tracker tool, for GBD leadership to use as they review the Q4 2017 ministry-level reports currently being finalized by the budget analysts. The Project created a Sector-Level Quarterly Performance Report template to help aggregate analysis, linking sector trends to ministry performance. And lastly, the Project created two Government of Jordan Annual Performance Report templates as options for GBD leadership. The Ministry-Level and Sector-Level Quarterly Performance Reports are the key input for producing a whole-of-government annual report that GBD wishes to submit to Parliament. The Project developed a strategy to integrate the reclassified Government Units that perform central government functions back into the central government. The recommendation follows the IMF Government Financial Statistics Manual 2014 (GFSM) that requires all entities performing a central government function to be classified as central government entities. Therefore, these entities should be included in budget book one and only those entities that meet the definition of a SOE should be included in budget book two. The project also developed a strategy to use GFMIS/Hyperion for budget planning and preparation. The implementation of this strategy will commence during the second Quarter of Year Two. 2.1.1 Strengthen Internal Controls

Cash Management Based on a request from the Minister of Finance, the Project undertook an analysis of cash forecasting and cash management in the GoJ. The project worked with a number of MoF directorates (Treasury, Revenue, Debt Management, and GFMIS) and related employees in General Budget Department. The project worked


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with key line ministries (Education, Health and Public Works and Housing) to understand the impact of the current cash management processes on budget execution.

The project developed a cash management framework which guided the identification of ten measure to improve the accuracy of the GoJ monthly cash flow requirements:

1. Improve annual accuracy forecast of government revenues. 2. Improve monthly accuracy forecast of government revenues. 3. Manage monthly government expenditure fluctuations. 4. Put in place a more structured Quarterly fiscal review process. 5. Put in place a mechanism to better track contingency and arrears. 6. Further optimize the Treasury Single Account. 7. Accelerate the electronic exchange of information between revenue collecting agencies and the

GFMIS. 8. Put in place a strategy to better manage and limit the creation of new arrears. 9. Manage Tax Refunds and Tax Arrears. 10. Improve the line ministries allocation process and use of GFMIS.

2.1.2 Transition to accrual IPSAS

Implementing IPSAS and accrual accounting is a major undertaking and will represent a major achievement for Jordan. However, the complexities and diversity of Government operations make its implementation even more challenging than in the private sector. The MoF faces significant challenges such as lack of capacity and system and procedure readiness which the Project is helping to address.


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IPSAS PMO During the Quarter, the Project supported the GoJ IPSAS PMO to enhance their capacity and understanding of IPSAS requirements for financial consolidation and the implementation of IPSAS’s control concept from which they can define the reporting & economic entities for GoJ. The objective of this support is to enable the PMO staff to conduct the control concept of IPSAS over central government entities, GUs (including government business enterprises), universities, & municipalities. The support was delivered through:

• Presentation for the control concept as per IPSAS 35: Consolidated financial statements; • Supporting discussion sessions (on-the-job training, around 5 sessions).

The support helped the PMO staff to start the process of testing the control concept over government entities.

Chart of Accounts Redesign In order to transition to accrual accounting, the GOJ’s Chart of Accounts (COA), in use since 2008 and oriented for cash accounting processes, requires significant revision and amendments. The Project’s approach to developing a new COA commenced with extensive analysis and assessment of the current situation. The analysis included the current COA segments and coding structure, the details and utilization of each segment, and the GOJ current and future requirements from each segment. The Project worked with the Public Accounts Department (PAD) and the IPSAS Project Management Office (PMO) to map the current revenue and expenditure COA codes to the new structure. The project presented a mapping plan to MoF for approval. Then new mapped the revenue and expenditure codes classification codes. The Project ensured the transferring of knowledge through involving the responsible MoF directorates through all analysis and mapping of COA codes. Multiple working sessions were conducted in MoF and included all staff from Public Accounts Directorate, IPSAS PMO, Revenue Directorate, and Treasury Directorate from MoF. The project also involved Income and Sales Tax Department (ISTD) and Jordan Customs Department (JCD). Accrual Accounting and ACCA IPSAS Online Training During January of this Quarter, all (100%) of the first batch (17) participants passed the ACCA IPSAS certificate exam. Based on these results, the project planned to conduct another four batches with 60 participants in total until the end of this year. The training programs will be delivered by the IPSAS PMO members who passed the exam and received the certificate. The project agreed with MoF on the participants of two batches that will be conducted within the coming quarter. The batches list contains participants from outside MoF. The project supported PMO’s staff who will deliver the ACCA IPSAS training by delivering to them presentation skills training session. In addition, the project will support them during their delivery of ACCA IPSAS training sessions.


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IPSAS Based Accounting Policies

During this Quarter, the project developed, submitted, presented, & discussed 4 IPSAS based accounting policies to MoF leadership. The policies are:

• Compliance with IPSAS requirements policy (policy & presentation materials);

• Reporting entity policy (policy and control concept training materials);

• Revenue policy (policy, & revenue analysis materials); • Property, plant, & equipment (PP&E) policy.

The project took these presentations and discussions as an opportunity to build the MoF leadership capacity & knowledge in IPSAS requirements.

The project also developed property investment policy and related presentation materials. This policy is expected to be submitted & presented for discussion to MoF during the next Quarter. 2.1.4 Internal Audit, Inspection and Control The activity was on hold during this Quarter because the MoF moved the key ministry counterparts, the Internal Control Director, and the Head of the Central Internal Control Unit. At the end of the Quarter, the MoF appointed a new Internal Control Director. In the coming Quarter, the Project will brief the Internal Control Director on the developed CYPRESS Action plans and start towards implementation on developing an internal audit transformation plan. During the Quarter, the Project finalized the Internal Control and Audit participant guide for an introductory course for the MoF. The training will be a part of the Training of Trainers Program in which a team of MoF staff will be trained to give the course to MoF employees. In the coming Quarter, the MoF staff will study the materials and prepare to launch the course within the MoF. 2.1.5 Gender Budgeting Based on the concept paper that has been prepared by the Project on the benefits of Gender Budget Analysis and the template that was prepared to be used as a tool to analyze and improve Gender Budgeting within the framework of ROB; to meet the requirements of Jordan Vision 2025, and the new global 2030 roadmap and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) approved by UN Member States on 25 September 2015, the Gender Budget Advisor proceeded with piloting 4 ministries (MoL, MoSD, MoPPA and MoE) and carried out on job training sessions for the responsible budget analysts during the month of January 2018.

FRPFM IPSAS expert, Haroun Rajabi, revenue policy presentation


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By the end of March 2018, the first Gender Budget Analysis Report for 2017 was ready to be discussed with the Ministry of Labor. The Ministry’s budget analyst, with support from the project’s Gender Budget Advisor, successfully lead the GRB panel discussion with the ministry’s staff and managed the discussion eagerly. The Ministry’s staff became aware of GRB requirements and the proper methodology for calculating the gender budget in line with best practice. This should be reflected on the final draft of the report that should be delivered to the project by mid of April. The remaining three reports will be finalized at the end of April 2018. The annual gender budget reports of the line ministries will be the first of their kind in the country and will be the corner stones for the Comprehensive Gender Budgeting Report which the GBD should work on in the coming future; such report will help track the performance of Gender Budgeting and enhance the M&E process to meet gender requirement in the Jordanian Society. On the other hand, a panel discussion with ISTD took place in January 2018, to discuss gender budgeting from the revenue side. This panel was organized in collaboration with Takamol/Gender USAID project and the Jordanian National Commission of Women. During this meeting, the Gender Budget Advisor proposed a presentation on the benefits of Gender budgeting from revenue side as a tool for enhancing women participation in the labor market and widening the tax base which will lead ultimately to improve the economic growth and increasing the gross domestic product in the country. ISTD recognized the importance of this issue and asked for the Project’s technical assistance in this area. 2.1.6 ROB, Monitoring and Evaluation, KPI Alignment, and Jordan Vision 2025 The quarterly performance report template, which was first piloted through in-person performance reviews with three selected ministries (Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Social Development, and Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs) in May of 2017, was piloted further in November 2017. The second round of piloting the quarterly performance report template was expanded to the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, the Ministry of Public Sector Development, the Ministry of ICT, and the Ministry of Higher Educations and Scientific Research. The Project supported GBD budget analysts to conduct in-person performance reviews with their ministries to understand what progress they had made to date on their goals, what challenges they are currently facing, and what actions the Ministry is taking to overcome these challenges in coming quarters.

GRB Panel Discussion with the Ministry of Labor and with the presence of JNCW representative

Performance Review Workshop


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Based on the discussion of the Ministries’ progress, both in terms of financial execution and progress on programs, projects, and KPIs, the budget analysts drafted performance reports to encompass performance for Q1 and Q2 with the guidance from the Project. These drafts are currently being finalized by the analysts and will later be reviewed by GBD for approval. The Project carried out a one-day workshop on performance reviews for all budget analysts and sector leads. During this training, the Project introduced the participants to key concepts and practices in ROB monitoring, techniques and tips for preparing and carrying out performance reviews and drafting quarterly reports using the new reporting template. As part of the workshop, the Project facilitated a panel discussion with the three budget analysts that were part of the first round of performance review pilots so that they could share their experience, including how they adapted the performance review methodology to their specific ministries. In addition to the workshop materials, participants also received a portfolio of sample quarterly reports, which were products of the first performance review pilots. 2.2 More transparent PFM practices implemented

2.2.1 Position the GFMIS unit for long-term sustainability

Assess GFMIS organization, capacity, and structure

Building upon the CYPRESS initiatives with GFMIS in 2017, and the sustainability assessment of the USAID/ Fiscal Reform II project, the project is drafting its assessment of the GFMIS’s organization. Incorporated into this assessment is GFMIS’s request (sub-activity in this category) for support desk software and processes. In early Q3, the Project will submit its assessment for the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and USAID’s review.

Configure GFMIS to produce the GoJ final accounts

The Project is working with the GFMIS and Public Accounts Directorate (PAD) to generate the Government of Jordan’s (GoJ) final accounts (GoJ’s year-end financial statement).

In this Quarter, the Project analyzed the financial accounts submission and determined the 38 reports required from the system to produce the existing document. The GFMIS Directorate then undertook to develop these reports. A draft of the GFMIS-produced final accounts should be available by April 2018. The Project anticipates a significant data analysis task in reconciling the PAD-produced final accounts (from PAD’s legacy Oracle system), and GFMIS.

Producing the year-end GoJ financial statement is a critical component of the Project’s advocacy of public financial management (PFM) completeness. It is a key pillar in ensuring that:

• GFMIS provides vital reporting to the GoJ. • The GoJ decommissions key legacy financial systems that exist in parallel with GFMIS. • GFMIS is the “single source of truth” for the GoJ’s financial position.

Government Units

The Project undertook a study on Government Units (GUs) to understand their reporting responsibilities. In developing the study, the Project reviewed MoF legal responsibilities for oversight and obtaining financial reports from GUs. In coordination with the MoF Public Accounts Directorate, the team developed a questionnaire and was assisted by GBD to circulate and collect information from all the 57 GUs. Questionnaire results were analyzed to determine Gus’ accounting, reporting capabilities, and made the following recommendations for improvements:


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• Classifying GUs in accordance with GFSM-2014 and IPSAS. • Developing a mechanism for monthly reporting templates to be submitted and processed

electronically. GUs Classification

The Project analyzed all 57 GUs and classified them in line with the IMF Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM) for the year 2014. The classification resulted in 29 GUs classified under central government, 2 classified under local government, 23 as under non-financial public corporation, and 3 classified as financial public corporation. The classification report was reviewed by Public Accounts Directorate (PAD and submitted to MoF leadership. Subsequently, an in-depth analysis of the 29 GUs classified under the central government led to the following proposals:

• Keep the two GUs established under the Constitution as financially and administratively independent GUs in the Government Units Budgets Law,

• Transfer the (27) remaining GUs established pursuant to a law or a by-law to the General Budget Law by merging (5) GUs with similar functions and creating (2) Independent Chapters under the General Budget Law; merging (10) GUs with parallel functions to Ministries; keeping (12) GUs with unique functions as Independent Chapters (no merger) under the General Budget Law.

The proposals were shared with the Minister of Finance and a letter was drafted to be sent from the Minister of Finance to the Prime Minister focusing on the justifications for restructuring related GUs, transferring them to the General Budget Law, or merging them with existing ministries, and the appropriate mechanisms, procedures and timeframe for implementation. 2.2.2 Revise the budget planning and preparation (BPP) workflow and fully implement the Hyperion module

Assist in improving the use of the Hyperion Budget Module

Working with the GFMIS Directorate, and the General Budget Department (GBD), the Project has commenced its initiative to produce the budget book from GFMIS. This is another vital pillar in ensuring that GFMIS is the “single source of truth” for Jordan’s financial position. In this quarter, the GFMIS Directorate and the Project conducted business and technical analysis for the means of producing the budget book:

• Analyzing the constituent reports of the budget law for budget institutions (BI);

• Determining the means of producing these reports from GFMIS (both data sources and data extracts);

• Determining the technology required to generate the book (see figure); and,

• Determining the skills-set of the Oracle resource required (GFMIS Director urged the project to hire).

Solution architecture for GoJ budget book development


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Starting April 2018, the GFMIS Directorate will conduct a refresher for GFMIS-based budget preparation processes for budget institutions (BI). The project will recruit for a resource to produce the budget book, and in Q3 have a draft product ready for GBD and the MoF’s consideration.

2.2.3 Support the rollout of GFMIS Draft GFMIS 2 RFP

The Project submitted the draft GFMIS 2 RFP (request for proposal) for the MoF’s consideration. The MoF has yet to supply substantive. The MoF has, however, expressed the desire for the Project to draft a request for information (RFI) to determine interest and use vendors to refine RFP requirements. The Department of Lands and Survey (DLS) and Revenue Recording in GFMIS

In collaboration with the Department of Lands and Survey (DLS), the Ministry of Finance Revenue Department (MoF/RR), and the GFMIS Directorate, the Project commenced and completed the design and development of the interface between DLS and GFMIS. This endeavor is the second of a series of interface development initiatives to expedite revenue recording (In the last quarter, the Project reported on the ISTD-GFMIS interface). There will be more to come, including an interface to the Jordan Customs Department (JCD) and GFMIS. GUs Portal

Based on the recommendation of the GU study to develop a mechanism for monthly reporting templates to be submitted and processed electronically, the Project presented a six-phase plan to develop and implement a GUs Portal for all the 57 GUs. The plan was reviewed by Pubic Accounts Directorate and its related division (Government Units Accounts Division), and then submitted to MoF leadership. The GUs Portal development was completed and tested successfully on January 8, 2018. The next step involved commencing the roll-out the portal to GUs which required MOF to staff the Government Units Accounts Division (GUAD) with a division head and 4 employees. In addition, to ensure the portal is housed on a server that has adequate capacity to enable smooth operations, MOF offered to rehabilitate the IBM servers. The rolling out cannot commence until the portal is housed on an appropriate server and MoF is expecting to have the servers ready by mid of April. The Project ensured transferring the knowledge by involving the responsible MoF directorate and GBD through all the GUs process staring for the original study and recommendations, plan for development and implementation and actual implementation. Knowledge transfer is a corner stone in this project and the training phase of the GUs Portal will include technical training for IT staff to make sure they can operate and maintain the GUs Portal. In addition, the Project will conduct functional training for MoF and GBD related staff as well as all the 57 GUs financial managers and liaison officers to ensure their ability to operate and utilize the Portal. The Project also included a training for trainers’ session targeting Public Accounts Directorate and specifically GUs Accounts Division in order to equip related employees to present the functional training to GUs when needed in the future.

DLS-GFMIS interface design workshop


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2.3 Increased GoJ adoption of Public Private Partnerships (PPP)

2.3.1 Operationalizing the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit

The Project continued working with the PPP Unit to assist with reviewing applications and other PPP related filings submitted by the contracting authorities to the PPP Council. The Unit is also working with its client contracting authorities (ministries, local governments, state owned enterprises and any other government institutions) to:

• Develop the PPP strategy. • Enhance PPP capacity development. • Support the assessment and/or prefeasibility studies of potential PPP projects. • Identify and secure potential PPP project development funding (secured over ). • Manage the PPP project development (feasibility and sustainability studies and transaction

advising). • Use the PPP database to manage the assessment, development, and implementation of PPP projects

and begin to enhance the database to include World Bank identified PPP related financial commitments and contingent liabilities (FCCL) to better monitor and manage the GoJ’s PPP related risks.

• Use the PPP database to assist the GoJ in tracking and managing PPP related obligations, contingent liabilities and other risks.

• Use the PPP Guidelines along with the private sector investors, operators, and advisors in developing, tendering, implementing and operating PPPs.

• Continue the PPP Certification Program to Level 2 of 3 following the completion of the “Introduction to PPPs” workshop.

The Project supported the PPP Unit by preparing a final drafts of the PPP Guidelines (English) based on the new PPP Law, Regulations, international practices and constant public and private sector stakeholder input. The Guidelines were reviewed (due diligence) by a Jordanian law firm and are being translated into Arabic prior to being redistributed to stakeholders for final comment. The Guidelines are expected to be formally launched in the second semester of this year. The PPP Guidelines will be a critical tool in improving the GoJ’s ability to identify, select, develop, implemented and ultimately manage PPP projects. The Project through the recently developed PPP Database is working with the PPP Unit and World Bank in developing and implementing a FCCL program to better identify, monitor and manage PPP related obligations other risks. The Database and Guidelines will be uploaded onto the PPP Unit website. The Database will be used by the GoJ through the MoF (GBD and Debt Department) and contracting authorities in identifying, recording and managing its PPP related FCCL. The Project also supported USAID in developing a methodology for implementing a USAID PPP Project Development Facility and in identifying potential PPP projects off the pipeline that may be the initial beneficiaries of the facility. In order to increase the capacity within the recently formed PPP Unit, the Project developed a capacity building strategy that includes:

• Developing a comprehensive PPP training program with the PPP Unit, based on the recently completed training needs assessment. The training program is being launched in the 2nd half of April with a weeklong training-of-trainers (TOT) workshop for the PPP Unit, and an initial 1-week “Introduction to PPP’s” workshop for contracting authorities and other offices within the MoF


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(participation in the introduction to PPPs workshop is a prerequisite for all other PPP training, including additional participation in the Globally accepted PPP Certification Program),

• Coordinating training with already implemented World Bank and AFD PPP capacity building programs (World Bank program and the AFD programs ended last year),

• Supporting the GoJ, through the PPP Unit, in undertaking a World Bank funded FCCL training workshop in the next quarter, and

• Providing on-the-job training, such as performing project assessments to determine if the project is expected to be feasible and meet the value-for-money, affordability and sustainability thresholds required under the PPP Law and Regulations and reviewing project specific draft feasibility studies prepared by transaction advisors (ongoing).

In all, the five training programs collectively will cover the following areas:

Recommended PPP Training Program

No. Material/Subject 1 Introduction to PPPs 2 PPP policies, laws and institutional frameworks 3 Project identification, selection and prioritization 4 Project management 5 Feasibility studies 6 Project development funds (Facilities) 7 Financial modeling 8 Financial feasibility viability gap analysis and financing 9 PPP project concept notes promotional material 10 Planning and structuring project specific PPPs and allocating PPP risks 11 PPP tenders (PPP tender documentation and contracts) 12 Project financing and risk valuation 13 PPP contract management and performance monitoring 14 Identify, record, monitor and manage PPP related FCCL within the GoJ

The training program developed for the PPP Unit was designed to address Jordan’s PPP legal framework and leading global practices. The program details the PPP Law, Regulations, and Guidelines. The PPP Unit also continues to populate the database and generate management report. The PPP Unit is enhancing the database to accommodate the GoJ’s PPP FCCL program being developed by the World Bank. The Project will support PPP Unit to make these enhancements and handover ownership of the database. 2.3.2 Build PPP Pipeline

The Project is supporting the PPP Unit, and the contracting authorities through the PPP Unit, in assessing potential PPP projects both before and after project submission to the Unit. A prefeasibility study includes an analysis as to whether the project:

• Offers good value-for-money (qualitative analysis). • Is affordable and sustainable to the government and/or ratepayer. • Is sustainable by reducing the government’s project related risk.

Public Private Partnership Training Courses


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The Project is continuing to develop various project specific financial models, with the PPP Unit staff, to determine the value for money, affordability, and financial viability of PPP initiatives and continues to socialize their use through on-the-job applications within the PPP Unit and the contracting authorities. The Project has developed, and the PPP Unit is using a terms of reference (ToR) template for project specific transaction advisors. The ToR template that has been developed over several projects was most recently used on the Al Tafilah University and Amman Flower Auction projects. As of the end of the Quarter, the following pipeline projects were in the feasibility study and/or tendering stage:

• King Hussein Bridge Terminal & Freight Yard. • Zarqa Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant in Al Hallabat. • New Amman Slaughterhouse. • Vehicle Lead-Acid Battery Collection and Recycling throughout Kingdom. • GoJ Fiber Optic System.

The PPP Unit is in the process of assessing, working with the contracting authorities in seeking PPP Council approval to move forward and/or preparing transaction advisor terms of reference on the following projects:

• Bus Rapid Transit GAM and Amman – Zarqa Lines. • Tafilah Technical University (a new Science College Building). • Marka Airport. • Treatment Center for Hazardous Industrial and Medical Waste. • Fifteen New School Facilities. • GoJ Fiber Optic System. • Slaughterhouses in Irbid and Al Karak. • Hazardous and Medical Waste Management. • Two Public Hospital Dialysis Wing. • Al albeit University Student Hostels, Staff Housing and Commercial Development. • Intelligent Transportation System For Public Buses. • One Stop e-government kiosks. • Parking and Commercial Development at Queen Alia Hospital. • Amman Flower Auction. • Amman Fruit and Vegetables Wholesale Market. • Al Madounah Inland Port.

The Project has also supported the PPP Unit in freezing or terminating several projects that did not justify having additional scarce resources devoted the projects. 2.3.3 Support PPP Unit and Contracting Authorities in implementing PPPs

In addition to undertaking the projects’ assessments (pre-feasibility studies), the Project provides support to the PPP Unit and the contracting authorities in the following project management areas:

• Preparing and reviewing terms of reference for feasibility and sustainability study, transaction and other project advisors and independent engineers.

• Identifying project development funding within or outside the GoJ. • Evaluating the proposals submitted by potential advisors and making recommendations as

requested by the PPP Unit and contracting authority. • Managing the contracted advisors and reviewing their feasibility and sustainability studies,

tendering documents, contracts and any other of their tasks or deliverables. • Participating in potential PPP project technical and steering committees


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• Reviewing feasibility and sustainability studies, tendering documentation and PPP contracts for compliance with the PPP Law and Regulations and best practices.

• Supporting the meeting of a condition precedent. • Supporting the implementation of projects.

The Project, with the World Bank, will be providing the MoF and contracting authorities support in identifying, recording, monitoring and managing their PPP related FCCL. Planned activities for the next period 2.1 Stronger GoJ auditing practices and result-oriented government

• Assign Project Managers for CYPRESS action plan for internal audit. • Initiate activities in CYPRESS action plan starting with creating an Internal Audit Transformation

Task Force. • Assist MoF and GBD to prepare the budget book through GFMIS by 30 May 2018 • Recommend changes to the budget documentation for the 2019 budget. • Study the budget planning and preparation process and recommend activities to improve the

credibility of the 2019 budget. • Scale-up performance review practice. • Scale-up KPI assessment reviews through outreach to ministries. • Improve the monitoring and evaluation system. • Further expand gender budgeting concepts and train budget analysts. • Complete CYPRESS maturity assessment and develop action plans. • Host the MoF IPSAS round table.

2.2. More transparent PFM practices implemented

• Develop IPSAS significant accounting policy manual (up to 2-3 policies). • Start the 2nd and 3rd batch of ACCA IPSAS online training. • Conduct the 2nd round of Basic IPSAS Requirements (accounting framework, accounting basis, and

commitment accounting) training to MoF’s staff. • Develop & present new revenue recording concept & process. • Identify, discuss, & agree with MoF the pilot ministries to implement the new revenue recording

concept. • Improve revenue recording process within MoF and revenue collecting entities. • Develop and implement two new interfaces: DLS-GFMIS and Customs-GFMIS • Assist MoF to prepare the 2017 Final Accounts using GFMIS by 30 June 2018. • Complete CYPRESS maturity assessment activities for MoF (Accounts, Revenue, and Treasury,

PPP Unit and GFMIS) and develop action plans. • Improve cash management. • Develop Assets, Liabilities and Retained Earnings COA Classifications. • Map GFSM 2014 economic classification to GOJ IPSAS economic classification. • Map Fund and Organization COA classifications. • Define Program, Functional and Geographical COA classifications. • Discuss recommendations of GUs classification with MoF leadership. • Discuss GUs classification recommendations with the Ministry of Public Sector Development, the

GBD, the Legislation and Opinion Bureau, the Audit Bureau and the Civil Service Bureau. • Set up a committee to amend all legislations related to the reclassifications and mergers. • Assist MoF to develop a plan for including all reclassified entities in the GFMIS.


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• Technical, Functional and TOT training related to GUs portal. • Portal implementation on Pilot Sites (including pilot sites training). • Rollout Portal to all GUs • Present review of GFMIS organization, structure, and capacity to the Project

2.3 PPP Unit Support

• Support PPP Unit to identify and manage PPP projects. • On-the-job and formal training and capacity development within the PPP Unit and contracting

authorities. • Disseminate the PPP Guidelines through the PPP Website and other methods. • Enhance the PPP Database to be able to account for project specific and overall PPP related FCCL. • Perform assessments of potential PPP for the PPP contracting authorities through the PPP Unit. • Support the contracting authorities through the PPP Unit in securing funding for and managing the

development of PPP projects. • Continue developing a communication program and developing communications related capacity • Provide TOT for PPP Unit staff and implementing the recently developed PPP training program • Upload the final Guidelines and database onto the PPP Unit’s website.

COMPONENT 3: FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH STRUCTURAL REFORM During the Quarter, the Project coordinated with the GoJ to organize a conference to promote dialogue between the central government and governorates on fiscal decentralization. The conference was held on February 28th and was launched by a keynote speech from the HE Minister of Finance, Omar Malhas and the Secretary General, Dr. Ezzedine Kanakrieh presented the Fiscal Decentralization White Paper, the progress to-date, and the vision for the future. The conference represented the first major convening of central government and governorates in discussing the implementation of fiscal decentralization. The Project continued to manage the implementation of two grants on increasing public private dialogue (PPD) and communications on tax e-services. The grantee completed all PPD activities during the Quarter and was finishing their final report at the end of the Quarter. The Project finalized an award for economic and fiscal policy analysis as it was awaiting USAID approval to be awarded at the end of the quarter. In addition, the Project finalized an RFA for public expenditure analyses focused on gender equality that was awaiting USAID approval at the end of the quarter. The Project conducted a second meeting for MoF executive risk management committee, and since DLS was selected as a pilot for risk management, the project assisted DLS to establish a risk management team at DLS and trained the team on risk management and how to identify risks based on operational objectives. After delivery of security policies and standards, the project selected 6 policies to be applied at DLS and worked in finalizing them with the counterpart. The DLS established a new Risk Management Directorate with Cybersecurity sections that will implement the new policies. In addition to risk management and cybersecurity, the Project is working with DLS on improving processes at DLS with piloting a One-stop-shop, training staff on customer experience, and reaching level 1 conformance of Land Administration Domain Model ISO standard. FRPFM also continued its focus on improving fiscal policy analysis, the quality of macro-fiscal data collection, and fiscal management at the governorate level. The Project continued to support the MoF in strengthening its communication by assessing the MoF and its subordinate communication practices and developing a communication plan for the MoF to enhance the impact public perception.


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3.1. Improved Fiscal Policy Formulation and Execution and Management of Government Debt

During the Quarter, the Project worked with SEPD on upgrading and improving the macro-fiscal data. The data base development and standardizing covered eight (8) sectors including the real economy, external sector, fiscal directorate, consolidated budget, prices sector, labor sector, and others. The Project and SEPD also collaborated on preparing a draft tax expenditures booklet. This effort builds on the work that has been done on measuring tax expenditures in Jordan for 2016. The aim is to communicate to the public and stakeholders the size of tax expenditures and the burden the government is taking from granting exemptions and tax reliefs to tax payers through several regulations. The Project also worked with SEPD on updating the monthly revenue forecasting model to be used by the Tax Analysis division. The model has been updated and monthly data of revenue collections has been collected and standardized to be suitable for the use of the model. Project support to the SEPD also included building macro simulation models for tax revenues. The aim is to provide the SEPD with an appropriate tool that would help in measuring the impact of any suggested policy change in taxes and provide policy recommendations that would support higher management in implementing the right tax policies that would help in achieving the fiscal targets reflected in the general budget. The team-initiated work with SEPD on preparing the MTFF report covering the period 2019-2021. A draft outline of the MTFF report has been prepared and submitted to the SEPD management. Furthermore, the macro-economic model has been updated and run with SEPD staff and results of model is being revised and adjusted. Also, a note prepared to be discussed with the Minister setting a time frame for the MTFF and describing deliverables and requirements for success. As part of the capacity building efforts of the SEPD staff, the team offered several on-the-job training sessions covering several topics including (i) Macro-economic concepts and indicators; (ii) Conducting policy research (iii) tax revenues micro simulation (iv) revenue forecasting (v) running macro-economic model. To further improve the tax system, progress is being made to prepare a tax modernization approach. A paper is being prepared covering recent developments in public revenues highlighting developments in both tax and nontax revenues and sheds light on tax burden and the distortions in public revenues. Furthermore, income tax gap has been calculated identifying the number of Jordanians who are not covered by the tax system classified according to income brackets. FRPFM initiated work with SEPD staff to prepare two policy research papers covering (1) tax impact on the economy (2) identifying sectors that could be the engine growths in the economy. The purpose of this exercise is to build the capacity of SEPD staff in preparing policy papers that would provide constructive recommendations to decision makers within the MOF. So far, outlines of these policy notes has been prepared and agreed upon with the SEPD, required data has been collected by SEPD staff and methodology for analyzing these data and drawing conclusions has been set. FRPFM prepared a note describing the economic and fiscal situation in Jordan, identifying gaps and distortions and providing policy recommendations that could be adopted by the Government of Jordan. Furthermore, another note has been prepared describing tax incident in Jordan distributed according to income brackets of Jordanians. Depending on that the note shows possible gaps in the cash subsidies program implemented by the government and provides recommendations.


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The team prepared two papers on national economic data provided by the Department of Statistics. The first checked the availability of economic data and described shortcomings. The other investigated the accuracy of GDP data published by Department of Statistics (DOS) and highlighted the importance of including the informal sector in GDP calculation. A letter was sent to the SG providing making recommendations on expanding the coverage of published fiscal data. The letter recommends the inclusion of universities fiscal data within published data of the central government and also recommends publishing fiscal data of government owned companies in a new chapter within the Government Finance Bulletin. The team supported the work of CYPRESS expert on following up the SEPD’s action plans and assessed deviations from planned targets and activities. Advice has been offered for SEPD’s divisions on actions needed to achieve targets. 3.2. Fiscal Management at the Governorate Level

During this Quarter, the Project organized the fiscal decentralization conference “Way forward for fiscal decentralization 2018” under the patronage of the Minister of Finance, and highlighted the achievements attained in fiscal decentralization and to push further in the implementation of fiscal decentralization. The conference was attended by representatives of ministries involved in decentralization and representatives of the municipal and governorate councils from all 12 governorates, in addition to donors and other USAID implementing partners. The conference was the first dialogue between the central government and governorates in fiscal decentralization at such a high and diverse level. The conference also gave the opportunity for a panel of six (6) government officials to respond directly to the governorates’ concerns in their experience through the governorate budget preparation process as well as budget planning and implementation. One of main outcomes of this conference was MoF declaration that by 2020, governorates will constitute a separate chapter in the annual budget law. The conference gave the opportunity to hear the governorates’ opinion so that the central government can address any challenge and move forward with the implementation of decentralization in Jordan.

Panel discussion responding to participants inquires during the conference


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The Project also met with the Minister and discussed Project’s vision for the implementation of decentralization in Jordan. The document “Towards improved decentralization governance and accountability” was delivered and presented to the Minister during the meeting. This document is important since it initiates the dialogue needed within the central government and key implementers of decentralization on the necessary steps that need to be addressed for the implementation of fiscal decentralization in the governorates in a phased approach. It was agreed that the Ministry will coordinate with the decentralization inter-ministerial executive committee and to discuss and present Project’s document in order to proceed with the implementation. During this Quarter, the Project continued its capacity building support to the fiscal decentralization unit at the MoF. A training was conducted to understand good practices in fiscal decentralization and how these practices can be applied in Jordan, and to support the ongoing actions in the implementation of the fiscal decentralization work plan. The training included an important practical exercise to study and analyze all options available for governorate budget execution after understanding the different roles of government and the essence of decentralization. During the Quarter, the Project continued to support to the Fiscal Decentralization Executive Committee. The committee requested from the FDU to analyze all considered options for governorate budget execution which must be presented at committee’s upcoming meeting. The Project provided support to the FDU in this regard and will present the main finding at the committee’s next meeting during the upcoming quarter. Tracking of line ministries current expenditures at governorate level is a key for determining the expenditure assignment that can be transferred to the governorates for budget execution. Currently, all line ministries current expenditures are recorded at the central level, and to start tracking and recording at the governorate level is an important step in the fiscal reform process for better budget planning and decision making. With the support of the Project, the FDU selected three pilot ministries (Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Tourism) and conducted site visits to each ministry to study and understand the current obstacles facing line ministries tracking of current expenditures at governorates level. The task force for this assignment included members from the FDU, Public Accounts Directorate, GFMIS Directorate, the financial controller for each ministry, the budget analyst for each ministry and FRPFM. Further visits and analysis is still needed for this assignment. 3.3. Increase Public-Private Dialogue and Outreach

During this Quarter, the Project conducted two-day communication training workshop for the communication head and team of MoF, PPP, SEPD, ISTD, GBD and DLS to enhance the participants understanding on best practices of an effective media office and to strengthen participants skills in effective writing and presentation techniques and news analysis.

From left to right, FRPFM team; Tariq Awwad, Juliana Pigey, and Tareq Shaker during the FDU


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The Project conducted communication training for the PPP unit attended by the PPP Director, Head of Projects Division and Head of Communication. The training covered the principles of effective communication, message crafting, public speaking and presentation technique skills.

PPP Communication Training The Project developed a Communication Action Plan for the PPP unit which identifies the priority communication needs for the unit. The plan was presented and discussed with the PPP Director and team, accordingly final plan was submitted to the unit. The Project developed communication material (event scenario, speeches, press release) and organized the Fiscal Decentralization Conference “Way forward for Fiscal Decentralization 2018” under the patronage of HE of Minister of Finance which was attended by a total of 165 governmental officials. Following the event, media coverage and success story was developed. The Project assisted the awarded local grantee in conducting three PPD events in Amman, Irbid and Karak, A total of 99 participants from the public and private sector attended. The topics of the PPDs were selected based on the findings of the conducted research which identified the priority macroeconomic issues that concern the public and private sector. The first PPD was on Economic Growth held in Amman. The second PPD was on Unemployment held in Irbid. The third PPD was on Agriculture and Water Scarcity held in Karak. Final report was developed to highlight the outcomes of the research and the conducted PPDs. The Project presented the Communication Assessment findings, recommendations and proposed plans to the MoF Minister, SG, ASGs and GBD DG to obtain concurrence of the leadership on communication enhancement plans and activities for the MoF and its subordinate entities. The Project developed scope for the planned Journalist training for local junior journalists to improve their understanding about the basic concepts involved in fiscal decentralization, macroeconomic and fiscal issues to enable them to analyze and report more accurately on these areas. The scope identifies the training objective, topics, approach, participants criteria and expected roles from the Jordan Media Institute in the training. Grants During the Quarter, the Project moved forward with its two active grants on Tax E-services and creating public private dialogue (PPD) as well as developed a new award and RFA for future grants.


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For the active Tax E-Services Grant, the grantee continued supporting the ISTD in its newspaper and radio campaign to promote their new online services. The new Facebook page for the ISTD E-services went from 0 to 63,562 followers. At the end of the Quarter, the grantee had developed and shared on the ISTD new Facebook page a tutorial on completing tax e-services and awareness videos on the value of filing taxes using the new online services. The grantee supported the ISTD in conducting its first workshop on how to file, submit and pay taxes using the E-Services where they also launched the tutorial and awareness videos.

During the Quarter, the PPD grantee, Al Badeel, completed three Public Private Dialogue events in Amman, Irbid and Karak with the public sector, private sector, and civil society and discussed three priority issues: economic growth, unemployment and agriculture. At the end of the Quarter, the grantee was revising their last milestone, the final report, which summarizes the grant activity and its outcomes. FRPFM will close the grant in the upcoming quarter.

During the Quarter, the FRPFM developed the Grant Award package for one of the applicants for Supporting of Fiscal or Economic Policy Research Center and submitted the award package to USAID for approval. The Project plans to kick-off the grant in the upcoming quarter pending USAID approval. The Project developed an RFA to issue up to two grants for Public Expenditure Analysis on Public Programs Supporting Gender Equality in Jordan. The Project submitted the RFA to USAID for approval and plans to issue the RFA in the upcoming quarter pending USAID approval.

3.4 Improved Risk at the Ministry of Finance and streamlining transactions at the DLS During the Quarter, the Project worked with the Department of Lands and Survey (DLS) Business Transformation Committee to identify three priority areas for reform in the upcoming year based on the Land Registry Scoping Assessment completed by the Project. The decided priority activities are:

1. Establish One-Stop-Shop at a pilot Land Registry Directorate 2. Conduct Customer Experience training 3. Achieve Level I Conformance with Land Administration Domain Model ISO Standard

In addition to business transformation activities, the Project delivered an additional security policy and trained the DLS security officer on all 18 security policies and standards. The Project supported the DLS in prioritizing six (6) of the security policies to begin implementation at the DLS. In addition, the Project supported the Department of Lands and Survey in establishing a risk management directorate with sections dedicated to cybersecurity by advising on the organizational structure, roles and responsibilities, and job descriptions. At the end of the Quarter, the new directorate was approved and the DLS was in the process of hiring for the new positions.

The first E-Services workshop with the Income and Sales Tax Department (ISTD) at King Hussein Business Park

Public Private Dialogue event conducted in Karak by the grantee Al Badeel with the public sector, private sector,

and civil society


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Risk Management The Project continued its support to MOF Risk Management by working with DLS pilot program in forming a Risk Management Team at DLS and conducting training with them on identifying risks associated with DLS operational goals and developing a risk registry that prioritizes risks to address based on their probability of occurrence and severity if they do occur. After the training, the Project worked extensively with DLS risk management team to identify their risks to be presented for the executive risk committee, by holding five workshops. The Project also conducted a second meeting for the executive risk committee, where the project presented the results of the Initial Risk Assessment report for MOF departments and discussed the roles and responsibilities for both Executive Risk Committee and DLS Risk Management Team. At the meeting, the DLS presented the progress on their risk identification process, and the process that led to identify their top ten risks out of approximately 50 risks identified.

Second Executive Risk Committee Meeting with FRPFM at the Department of Lands and Survey

Planned activities for the following Period

3.1 Improved Fiscal Policy Formulation and Execution and Management of General Government Debt • Continue working on expanding the coverage of the general government data published with

the monthly General Government Finance Bulletin. • Continue helping SEPD to develop and/or update macro-fiscal economic policy notes. • Support the development of periodic reports and analysis that SEPD should produce on a monthly,

quarterly, bi-annual, and/or annual basis. • Continue modeling efforts through updating fiscal policy simulation models and macro-economic

model. • Train SEPD staff and help them to use the models in their research work. • Regenerate the MTFF that will be incorporated into the 2019 Budget Law. • Support SEPD divisions in implementing all the tasks included in their action plans. • Help implement the recommendations of the training needs assessment of the SEPD.

FRPFM training for Risk Management Team at DLS


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• Continue providing on-the-job training and in-class training to SEPD staff. • Support the SEPD in disseminating and communication efforts through proper venues.

3.2. Fiscal Management at the Governorate Level • Support the implementation of fiscal decentralization at the governorates by defining their future roles

and responsibilities • Support the FDU in its different activities and building its capacity in fiscal decentralization. • Assist the FDU in reviewing the different laws, bylaws and instructions that need to be revised for

implementation of fiscal decentralization at the governorates. • Assist (if requested) the GBD and the FDU in the revision and updating of the budget ceiling formula

and criteria that will be used for fiscal year 2019. • Assist the FDU in analyzing the requirements and challenges that face ministries from recording the

current expenditures at the governorates and select pilot ministries for the analysis. • Support and provide input and feedback to the fiscal decentralization inter-ministerial executive

committee. 3.3. Increased Public-Private Dialogue and Outreach • Finalize the DLS Communication Plan. • Manage the implementation of the PPD and dissemination activities for the awarded research center. • Promote small PPP's and website support. • Support the MoF and its departments in developing communication strategies and action plans. • Collaborate with Jordan Media Institute to conduct Journalist Education in economic and fiscal issues. Grants • Manage the implementation of the awarded grant (E-Services). • Close the PPD grant. • Award the Support of Fiscal or Economic Policy Research grant after USAID approval. • Issue RFA for Public Expenditure Analysis on Public Programs Supporting Gender Equality in Jordan

after USAID approval. 3.4 3.4. Improved Risk at the Ministry of Finance and streamlining transactions at the DLS • Work with the Business Transformation Committee to select a pilot Land Registration Directorate for

implementation of the one-stop shop. • Assess the physical configuration of the LRD office and determine any reconfiguration needs to support

the one-stop shop approach. • Assess the DLS Land Registration Management Software and propose modifications which will be

needed to support the re-engineered one-stop shop workflows. • Determine the specific training needs for successful operation of the one-stop shop, to include re-

engineered business processes and customer experience management. • Conduct a Customer Experience Training for DLS staff concerned with customer service • Determine high level costs and timelines for implementation of the pilot. • Perform a detailed review and analysis of the data model used by the existing Land Registration

Management System. • Benchmark the current system against a maturity model for the Land Administration Domain Model. • Determine the specific modifications required to bring the existing Land Registration Management

System into Level 1 Conformance with ISO 19152. • Develop the class diagrams for the ISO 19152 Jordan Country Profile. • Develop an action plan for implementing the necessary data and software modifications. • Assist Department of Lands and Survey to adapt the security policies delivered by the project.


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Risk Management • Conduct workshops to refine strategic vision, charter, and roles & responsibilities for the MoF

Executive Risk Committee (ERC) and DLS Risk Management Team (RMT). • Conduct workshops to apply standardized risk analytic process steps to continue filling in the DLS Risk

Registry, focusing on refining risk statements and initial risk response plans. • Work with members of the ERC to conduct a basic assessment of their respective risk management

maturity levels as a follow-on to initial self-assessment. COMPONENT 4: EXIT STRATEGY During the Quarter, the Project continued its focus on the three main pillars in Component 4: (1) The PFM sustainability framework, (2) CYPRESS© strategic planning, and (3) strengthening and institutionalization of the training function through the Sustainable Learning Transformation (SLT) protocol, in addition to project M&E activities. During this Quarter, the team continued working with the ISTD, SEPD, PPP and Budget Execution Directorate to monitor the progress in implementing the CYPRESS performance improvement action plans. Excellent progress was achieved in all entities and the level of counterparts’ involvements is increasing. The Project developed and delivered a presentation on MoF PFM sustainability status to the USAID mission. Under the SLT protocol activities; TNA activities initiated at the ISTD, while implementing the training plans for the SEPD, PPP, and Budget Execution functions. Several training courses were delivered, and more courses are being developed. In terms of Monitoring and Evaluation activities, the Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMELP) for the second year of the Project was finalized and submitted to USAID. The team finished uploading all 2017 and Quarter 4 KPIs to DevResults. 4.1 The Exit Strategy

Strengthen and institutionalize MoF training function through the SLT Protocol

During this quarter the Project initiated the ISTD TNA activities for three main functions: the tax audit, the tax collection and taxpayers’ services. The competency matrices were developed, and the competency survey was launched on 28 Feb 2018. Delays were faced to fill in the surveys electronically which forced us to the manual approach. So far, the response rate is at 45%. We are working to increase it to at least 60% to improve confidence level. Meanwhile, training initiatives were started. A Risk Management training program was held on 25-27 March 2018 targeting more than 45 employees where they were introduced to the Risk Management concepts and techniques and were assisted to identify risks within their respective directorates. The output of this work will be the base for ISTD’s Risk Management strategy and action plan for 2018 and the years to come. Other training courses were identified and planned for 2018 including:

• Tax audit best practices • ISTD tax audit procedures • Income and Sales Tax audit techniques • Tax collection best practices • ISTD tax collection procedures • Orientation to ISTD services workshop • Identifying tax evasion


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• Conflict Management and Negotiation skills On the MoF end; the Project finalized the Budget Execution training of Trainers Pilot training program. Three courses were developed, Introduction to Cash management, Introduction to Internal Audit, Introduction to IPSAS and Professional Communication Skills. Ten instructors were involved in developing the training material based on the SLT/ADDIE approach, assisted by the Project subject matter experts. For technical reasons, the Introduction to IPSAS course development was postponed. The instructors delivered mock training sessions where they were evaluated for their presentation and facilitation skills. A graduation ceremony was held on 5 April 2018.

Eight instructors successfully graduated from the TOTP

“This is the best training course I have attended during my work at the MoF. The amount of knowledge and skills I have acquired was beyond my expectations”, Mr. Mohammad Kharabsheh, IPSAS PMO. Based on the PPP TNA report, the Project contracted Mr. Edward White to develop the “Introduction to PPP Framework and Managing PPP projects” training course which will be held mid-April. Other training programs will be conducted as per the training plan for 2018-2019. The SEPD training plan implementation was also initiated. Dr. Hashem Ali was contracted to develop the “Macroeconomic Principles, Policy and Analysis: Main Variables, Interrelationships and Interactions” training course, which is a pre-requisite for the rest of the training plan. It is expected to deliver this course during the third quarter of this year. Under its efforts to build capacities in the field of accrual-based accounting and IPSAS implementation; the Project finalized the first round of the ACCA IPSAS Online Certification Program. 17 participants from the IPSAS PMO and other directorates attended an eight-week coaching program on the 10 modules and a 100% pass rate was achieved. Currently the Project is preparing for 4 more rounds in 2018-2019 targeting 80 participants from MoF, ISTD, GBD, DLS and the Audit Bureau. As part of its sustainability efforts; the Project held a Training of Trainers session for the IPSAS PMO staff to prepare them to facilitate the coaching sessions for planned rounds. The Fiscal Decentralization Unit attended a training session on the “Decentralization Concepts, Best Practices, and Concepts of Expenditure Assignment”. The training was held on March 12th and will be followed by more training courses and on-the-job coaching. Communication skills were indicated as an area of improvement within MoF and reporting departments. Accordingly, the Project developed a training program that addresses this gap. The training was delivered


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to the PPP unit leadership in a one-day workshop in addition to a two-day workshop targeting the communication and PR teams at MoF, GBD, ISTD and DLS. The plan is to conduct various versions of this training targeting the Ministries top leadership (i.e. SG and DGs), the SG/DG assistants and directors. Launched the Oracle Project Costing program targeting 16 professionals from GBD, GFMIS, PAD and MoPIC. Design and Implement CYPRESS Strategic Planning for ISTD, GBD and MoF

During this quarter, the Project assisted the ISTD in developing their performance improvement action plan for 2018. Thirteen (13) projects were identified and the Project advisors are providing guidance to the projects teams in developing and implementing activities. On the MoF level, monitoring sessions were held with the SEPD, PPP unit, and the Budget Execution directorates. The Project developed and delivered a presentation on MoF PFM sustainability status to the USAID mission. The below table shows the progress in the maturity level for each of our counterparts.

Function Baseline Maturity Year 1 Maturity

ISTD 3.8 6.5

PPP 3.2 4.8

SEPD 2.8 4.6

Budget Execution 4.3 N/A

The budget execution directorates recently started to implement the CYPRESS action plans. The progress and maturity development will be reported in the following quarters. MoF Work Environment

Under the PFM sustainability framework; the Project developed the organizational structure for the planned Tax Policy Directorate. It is still in draft format to be revised upon counterparts’ feedback. 4.2 Monitoring & Evaluation During this Quarter, the Project continued collecting data necessary to calculate the project key performance indicators and developed a set of new templates to improve the data collection process. These include: the registration sheet for the on-job training indicator (4.1.b. Person-hours of on-job training and coaching on fiscal policy and fiscal administration), 1.b. Number of tax measures, and 2.2.a. Number of transparency measures implemented as a result of the project support. The project improved the disaggregation of data and reported to the DevResults the GIS training and grants data. The project started updating the LOP targets and will report the final agreed upon targets mid-April. For the macro-economic indicators (A, B, C, & D), although the requirement is to report the data on annual bases, the project collects and reports the information on a quarterly basis, providing better tracking of the annual evolution and providing better understanding of annual comparison. The Project organized ACCA training sessions and ISTD Risk Management training to staff in all the governorates. The project also continued measuring the satisfaction of participants in all its educational events as an extra effort to support the continuous improvement of the events, and to support coming year work plan. In general, all educational events exceeded the (Very good) level, and the Fiscal Decentralization


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Conference in specific achieved 93% of satisfaction (Excellent and good) from 41 participants who submitted the satisfaction survey sheets. The Project continued performance evaluation and tracking the status of work plan deliverables within the required level of quality. All tools and templates were disseminated through the Project staff members. In general, the Project achieved a considerable amount of work plan tasks, and delivered the planned deliverables as follows:

The total number of deliverables that is either completed or in progress are more than 75% of the total number of work plan deliverables. For the other M&E stakeholders, the Project participated in developing the EvalJordan capacity building plan to enhance the capacity of M&E advisors in terms of linking the performance evaluation to the fiscal management data and indicators. Planned activities for the next Quarter 4.1 Exit Strategy • Finalize the Training Needs Assessment (TNA) with ISTD. • Deliver high priority training for PPP, SEPD, Budget Execution directorates and the ISTD. • Develop year 2 CYPRESS performance improvement action plans for SEPD, PPP. • Follow up on ISTD year 2 CYPRESS action plan implementation. 4.2 Monitoring & Evaluation • Continue training to FRPFM staff on using the M&E templates to comply with the DQA requirements. • Using the dashboards for timely reporting on major indicators. • Continue monitoring deliverables and work plan performance. • Continue collecting GIS data and reporting data to DevResults on quarterly and annual timeframes.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Not strated On hold In progress Completed

Work Plan Deliverables Status

C1 C2 C3 C4 Total


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• Work with ISTD on-hand to update the Strategic Plan 2018-2020 with focus on goals and achieving results.

• Work with other stakeholders to develop their M&E systems, based on the CYPRESS methodology and aligned with Jordan Vision 2025.

• Prepare to conduct the project performance evaluation analysis. COMMUNICATION AND DISSEMINATION During this Quarter, the project presented the Communication Assessment findings, recommendations and proposed plans to the MoF Minister, SG, ASGs and GBD DG to obtain concurrence of the leadership on communication enhancement plans and activities for the MoF and its subordinate entities. Accordingly, the project conducted two-day communication training workshop for the communication head and team of MoF, PPP, SEPD, GBD, ISTD and DLS to enhance the participants skills in effective writing and presentation techniques. The Project developed Communication Action Plan for the PPP unit which identifies the priority communication needs for the unit. The plan was presented and discussed with the PPP Director and team, accordingly final plan was submitted to the unit. The project also developed communication materials for the Fiscal Decentralization Conference “Way forward for Fiscal Decentralization 2018”. Following the event, media coverage and success story was developed. The team assisted the awarded local grantee to conducted three PPD events in Amman, Irbid and Karak, A total of 99 participants from the public and private sector attended. The topics of the PPDs were selected based on the findings of the conducted research which identified the priority macroeconomic issues that concern the public and private sector. The first PPD was on Economic Growth held in Amman. The second PPD was on Unemployment held in Irbid. The third PPD was on Agriculture and Water Scarcity held in Karak. Final report was developed to highlight the outcomes of the research and the conducted PPDs. FRPFM developed a scope for the planned Journalist training for local junior journalists to improve their understanding about the basic concepts involved in fiscal decentralization, macroeconomic and fiscal issues to enable them to analyze and report more accurately on these areas. The scope identifies the training objective, topics, approach, participants criteria and expected roles from the Jordan Media Institute in the training. Coordination meetings: During the Quarter, relevant FRPFM project staff attended:

• The Political Economy Analysis held by the USAID Jordan Monitoring and Evaluation Support Project • The USAID/Jordan Communication Working Group. • The Local Economic Development Conference organized by UNDP and MoI. • The Decentralization meeting held at the CITIES project office. • Several USAID Implementers meeting. • IMF mission meetings. • Several EU coordination meetings. • The Regional workshop on TADAT organized by IMF/METAC. • Weekly project coordination meetings with our USAID project COR.


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Planned Activities • Develop newsletter, success stories, and information pieces on project successes. • Manage the implementation of the PPD grant activities and the e-services campaign. • Support the Economic and Social Council in an upcoming planned Economic-Fiscal PPD activities. • Support the PPP Unit in promoting their activities. • Collaborate with an Institute to conduct Journalist Education in economic and fiscal issues. • Coordinate with the MoF to disseminate the Fiscal Decentralization White Paper.

USAID/ Jordan FRPFM Quarterly Report Y2 Q2, Jan 1- Mar 31,2018

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ANNEXES

Annex I Indicator Performance Tracking Table (Q2-2018)

Legend: Frequency: A = annual; Q = Quarterly Baselines and targets: TBD = to be determined (as project engages with counterparts); * = minimal; N/A = not applicable

Indicators are not cumulative unless otherwise indicated below.

Indicator Data and Methodology

Freq. Base Q2/ 2017 (Mar 2017)

Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20

Notes and Assumptions

USAID DO#1: Broad-based, inclusive economic development accelerated IR 1.4: Fiscal stability and public financial management improved

A. Level of Net Public debt as a percentage of GDP

MoF Finance Bulletin; Retrieve

A 87.7% (2016)

88.2% 89.2%

89.8%

88.9% 90.5% N/A N/A Mandatory Context indicator, Mission PMP 1.4.a Net Public Debt

(Million JD) 24,079.4 24,528.4 25,021.3 25,465.9

25,436 25,948.9

(Feb. 2018) N/A N/A

Nominal GDP (Million JD)

27,444.8 27,810.0 (Estimate)

28,055.0 (Estimate)

28,360.0 28,600 28,657 (Estimate)

N/A N/A

B. Primary fiscal deficit (Excluding grants) as a percentage of GDP

MoF Finance Bulletin; Retrieve

A

-6.8% (2016)

-0.87% -1.50%

-3.14% -5.1% -1.32% N/A N/A Mandatory Context indicator, Mission PMP 1.4.b Primary fiscal deficit

(Million JD) -1,714.6 -241.9 -420.7 -891.5 -1455.6 -378.1

(Feb. 2018) N/A N/A


27,444.8

27,810.0 (Estimate)

28,055.0 (Estimate)

28,360.0 (Estimate)

28,600 28,657 (Estimate)

N/A N/A


41



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


C. Ratio of private sector to public sector funds in USG-supported Public Private Partnerships

Activity records, observation sheet

A 0 0 0 0 0 0 TBD TBD Mandatory Context indicator, Mission PMP 1d

D. Tax revenue as a percentage of GDP

MoF Finance Bulletin; Tabulate

A 15.5% (2016)

3.7% 8.0%

11.8%

15.2% 2.5% 16.7% 17.2% Mandatory Mission PMP 1.4.1.a Tax Revenue (Million

JD) 4,254.3 1,019.0 2,247.9 3,334.5 4,343.5 720.3

(Feb.2018)


27,444.8 27,810.0 (Estimate)

28,055.0 (Estimate)

28,360.0 (Estimate)

28,600 28,657 (Estimate)

Activity Result 1: Revenue performance improved through effective tax policy and administration

1.a. Ratio of tax arrears to total tax collection

ISTD records; Tabulate

Q 651 (2016)

48.4 50.3 53 N/A N/A 51 50 Output indicator Mission PMP 1.4.1.c Amount of tax arrears 2,663.1 2,048.4 2,127.3 2,093.8 N/A N/A

Total tax collections (During the last 12 months)

4,097.1

4,230.8 4,229.2 3,951.4 4,343.5 N/A

1.b. Number of tax measures recommended

Activity records

A 0 20 20 20 12 17 5 0 Output indicator

Activity Sub-Result 1.1: Tax processes and systems enhanced

1.1.a Percentage of tax assessments with additional tax and not objected to or objected to but not appealed

ISTD records; Tabulate

Q TBD 63% 56% 65% 66%

62.4% TBD TBD Output indicator.

1 2014 value.


42



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


Number of tax assessments Produced additional tax and not objected to or objected to but not appealed

3,513 2,758 2,769 3,100 2,600 TBD TBD

Total number of tax assessments performed by ISTD

5,611 4,905 4,244 4,663 4,164 TBD TBD

1.1.b Time required to file a return at ISTD for corporates

Word Bank Doing Business Report/ Tax

A 5.8 hours 5.14 hours 4.8 hours 4.8 hours 4.3 hours 4.3 hours 4.5 hours 4 hours Output indicator. Assume taxpayer already has clearance.

1.1.c Time required to file a return at ISTD for individuals

Outgoing taxpayer survey; Tabulate

A 00:24.34 00:25:00 00:20:00 00:20:00 N/A N/A N/A Output indicator. Assume taxpayer already has clearance.

Activity Sub-Result 1.2: Tax compliance improved

1.2.a. Percentage of stop-filers subject to collection action

ISTD record; Tabulate

A 0% N/A N/A 25 N/A N/A 35 45 Output indicator. Disaggregated by size of taxpayer (Large, Medium, Small) Stop-filers (Large) N/A N/A 3 N/A N/A N/A N/A

Stop-filers (Medium) N/A N/A 14 N/A N/A N/A N/A

Stop-filers (Small) N/A N/A 27 N/A N/A N/A N/A

1.2.b. Percentage of tax assessments approved but not paid


A 0% 23.3% 36.1% 32.2%

(All fiscal year)

30.4% 62.9% TBD TBD Output indicator.


43



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


Amount of tax assessments approved but not paid

NA 1,893,538 1,591,721 1,911,920 2,584,396 5,170,095 TBD TBD

Total amount of tax assessments approved

NA 8,137,934 4,412,109 5,933,247 8,493,084 8,214,246 TBD TBD

1.2.c. Percentage of tax assessments disapproved but paid


A 0% 16.9% 28.4% 20.9%

(All fiscal year)

13.0% 9.7% TBD TBD Output indicator.

Amount of tax assessments disapproved but paid

N/A 9,755,405 9,219,820 2,973,012

3,187,217 2,427,736 TBD TBD

Total amount of tax assessments disapproved

N/A 57,901,912 32,523,391 14,214,244

24,449,578 25,120,327 TBD TBD

Activity Result 2: Budget efficiency and transparency improved, including gender-responsive budgeting

2.a. Percentage of GoJ institutions fully implementing IPSAS

Agency records; Conduct interviews / observation

Q 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 50% 100% Mandatory Output indicator, Mission PMP 1.4.2.c Line agencies have budget article. IPSAS will mean including financial assets and liabilities in financial statements

2.b. Percentage of total public expenditure to GDP

MoF Finance Bulletin; Tabulate

A

29% (2016)

6.31%

13.4% 20.7% 28.58% 5.0% N/A N/A Output indicator.


44



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


Total Public Expenditure (Million JD)

7948.2 1,754.7 3,749.1 5,860.9 8173.2 1440.7 (Feb.2018)

N/A N/A


27,444.8

27,810.0 (Estimate)

28,055.0 (Estimate)

28,360.0 (Estimate)

28,600 28,657 (Estimate)

N/A N/A

2.c. Score in the Open Budget Survey, Transparency

Open Budget Initiative; Retrieve

A 55 55 (As in

April 2016 Update)

55 (As in

April 2016 Update)

55 (As in April

2016 Update)

63 (As in

Jan.2018)

63 (As in

Jan.2018)

62 65 Context indicator

2.d. Value of PPP transactions recommended to the PPP Council as a result of USAID FRPFM technical assistance

PPP Unit records; Tabulate

Q 0 0 0 0 0 121.25 m

Output indicator Cumulative

Activity Sub-Result 2.1: GoJ auditing and results-oriented government strengthened

2.1.a Percentage of financial audits performed to international standards as a result of USAID FRPFM technical assistance and capacity building activities

Audit Bureau records; Conduct interviews / observations

A TBD 0% 0% 0 N/A N/A 60% 70% Intermediate result indicator International standards are those of INTOSAI (On-hold)

2.1.b. Percentage of GoJ institutions implementing GFMIS increased

MoF records; Conduct interviews / observation

A N/A 96.3% 96.3% 96.3% TBD 100% Mandatory, Output indicator, Mission PMP 1.4.2.a GoJ institutions with separate Number of GoJ

institutions implementing GFMIS

52 52 52


45



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


Total number of GoJ institutions with separate budget chapter

53 53 53 budget chapter (SOEs2 excluded).

2.1.c. Percentage of GOJ line-agencies included in the whole-of-government M&E framework

Project records; Tabulate

Q 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 60% 75% Sub-result indicator Cumulative

2.1.d. Percentage of GoJ line agencies implementing GRB as a result of USAID FRPFM assistant

Agency records; Conduct interviews / observation

Q 0% 96% 96% 96% 96% 96% 100% 100% Mandatory, Output indicator, Mission PMP 1.4.2.b Line agencies have budget article. GRB implementation means articulating the linkages between budget policy and gender outcomes

Number of GoJ institutions implementing GRB

0 52 52 52 52 52

Total Number of GoJ institutions with a separate budget chapter

53 53 53 53 53 53

Activity Sub-Result 2.2: Structural reforms for more transparent PFM practices supported

2 The proper implementation of IPSAS (Internal Public Sector Accounting Standards) will also define which institutions are SOEs. For example, institutions that are fully funded by the GoJ or in which the GoJ has sizeable voting rights will not be described as SOEs.


46



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


2.2.a. Number of transparency measures implemented as a result of USAID FRPFM assistance

Agency reports, websites, and other; Conduct interview / observation

Q 0 0 0 10 12 15 20 25 Sub-result indicator Cumulative

Activity Sub-Result 2.3: Capacity of GoJ to adopt PPP enhanced

2.3.a. Number of prefeasibility studies conducted or supported by the PPP Unit as a result of USAID FRPFM technical assistance and capacity building activities


Q 0 0 0 4 4 4 8 10 Output indicator Cumulative

2.3.b. Number of PPP transactions recommended to the PPP Council as a result of USAID FRPFM assistance



Activity Result 3: Fiscal sustainability increased through structural reform

3.a. Number of laws, policies, strategies, plans, agreements or regulations addressing fiscal policy in development stages of analysis, drafting and consultation, legislative

Official Gazette, news media; Tabulate

Q 0 10 11 20 9 17 25 30 Mandatory Sub-result indicator, (Mission PMP 1.4.3.a) Includes five adopted or implemented


47



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


review, approval or implementation, as a result of USG assistance

Cumulative

Drafted and presented for public/stakeholder consultation

Q 1 Law 3 Agreem. 6 policies 1 plan

2 Policies 3 plans

3 Plans 10 Policies

Proposed/presented for legislation/decree

Q 0 2 Laws

Passed/approved Q 1 Law 2 Agreem. 2 Policies

3 Policies

Passed for which implementation has began

Q 1 Agreem. 3 policies

2 plans 1 Strategy

Activity Sub-Result 3.1: Fiscal and debt policy formulation capacity enhanced

3.1.a. Aggregate expenditure out-turn compared to original approved budget.

SEPD, MFU records; Tabulate

A -6.4% N/A N/A N/A -7.3% N/A ± 2.0% ± 0.0% Output indicator Cumulative

Actual expenditure 7,948.6 (Dec.2016)

N/A N/A N/A 8,173.2 N/A

Expenditure as approved in the original approved budget

8,495.7 N/A N/A N/A 8,812.5 N/A

3.1.b. Tax revenue out-turn compared to original approved budget

SEPD, MFU records; Tabulate

A - 8.1%

N/A N/A N/A -16.5% N/A ± 3.0% ± 2.0% Output indicator Cumulative


48



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


Actual Tax revenue 4,254.4 (Dec.2016)

N/A N/A N/A 4,343.5 N/A

Tax revenue as in the original approved budget

4,597.0 N/A N/A N/A 5,201.0 N/A

Activity Sub-Result 3.2: Capacity for fiscal management at the governorate level increased

3.2.a Percentage of governorates’ staff with increased level of knowledge and understanding of PFM as a result of USAID FRPFM technical assistance

Activity records; Tabulate

Q 0 0 0 0 0 0 50% 70% Output indicator

Activity Sub-Result 3.3: Public-private dialogue and outreach increased

3.3.a. Value of grants disbursed by USAID FRPFM to local research organizations to participate in the discourse on PFM issued between the government and the private sector

Activity reports; Tabulate

Q $0.0 0 0 0 0 Output indicator Cumulative


49



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


3.3.b. Number of economic analysis reports, guidance notes produced by local research organizations supported by USAID FRPFM grants



Activity Result 4 (Cross-cutting): Capacity of GoJ in FRM increased- Resilient PFM practices sustained through an exit strategy- Gender equity and female empowerment, gender integration of PFM practices enhanced

4.a. Percentage of GoJ staff with increased level of knowledge and understanding of PFM as a result of USAID FRPFM technical assistance and capacity building activities


Q 0 81% 100% 37% 56.1% 100% 25% 30% Sub-result indicator, contributes to Mission PMP 1.4.3.a Cumulative

Total No. of responded participants)

0 116 11 27 66 3

Total No. (Participants with improved LKO)

0 94 11 10 37 3

4.b. Number of counterpart directorates who demonstrate the ability to independently use the CYPRESS maturity/ sustainability model to achieve targeted maturity levels


A 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 5


50



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


4.c. Percentage of participants with increased level of knowledge and understanding of gender equality principles and women’s right as a results of USG interventions


Q 0 0 80% 67% 0% 0% 70% 70% Mission PMP 4.1.a

Total No. of responded participants)


0 0 10 32 0 0

Total No. (Participants with improved LKO)

0 0 8 20 0 0

Cross-cutting Activity Result 4.1: Improved capacity of GoJ in PFM supported

4.1.a. Person-hours of training completed in fiscal policy and fiscal administration supported by USG assistance


Q 0.0 1,103.5 918.00 4,849.5 3,178 942.0 13,000 2,200 Mandatory Output indicator, Archived F 4.1.1-14, Mission PMP 1.4.1.b Disaggregate by gender (Target for 2018 = 20,000)

Female (Total) 0.0 208.0 154.0 1039.9 1,001.5 193.0 4332 477

Male (Total) 0.0 895.5 764.0 3810.6 2,464.5 749.0 3472 1763

Age group: 18-29 0.0 5.0 4.0 352.8 339.0 40.5 231 147

Age group: 30-49 0.0 1093.5 686.0 3371.6 2,789.5 595.0 187 1781

Age group: 50+ 0.0 5.0 228.0 1125.2 337.5 242.0 27 312

4.1.b. Person-hours of on-job training and coaching in fiscal policy and fiscal


Q 0.0 1,409.0 2,177.5 2,505.5 3897.0 1201.0 4,000 800 Output indicator Disaggregate by gender


51



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


administration supported by USAID FRPFM

Cumulative

Female (Total) 0.0 380.0 547.0 618.5 1,054.50 237.0 500 100

Male (Total) 0.0 1,029.0 1,630.5 1,887.0 2,844.0 964.0 3500 600

Age group: 18-29 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 158.0 174.0 500 100

Age group: 30-49 0.0 1,409.0 2,177.5 2,505.5 3,596.5 885.0 3000 700

Age group: 50+ 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 168.0 142.0 500 100

Cross-cutting Activity Sub-Result 4.2: PFM practices sustained through an exit strategy

4.2.a Number of CYPRESS maturity/ sustainability model workshops conducted with counterpart directorates


A 0 16 19 27 4 12 5 5 Output indicator Disaggregate by agency Counterpart Directorates including those in: MoF, ISTD, GBD, AB

4.2.b. Number of counterpart directorates who implemented maturity plans and tools and achieved 70% of their annual maturity targets


A 0 0 0 2 2 (SEPD +

ISTD)

N/A 5 5 Sub-result indicator Disaggregate by agency Counterpart Directorates include those in: MoF, ISTD, GBD, AB

Cross-cutting Activity Sub-Result 4.3: Gender equity and female empowerment enhanced


52



Q3/ 2017 (Jun 2017)

Q4/2017 (Sep 2017)

Q1/2018 (Dec 2017)

Reporting Period

(Mar 2018)

10/1/18 – 9/30/19

10/1/19 – 9/30/20


4.3.a Number of USG-supported community meetings and educational events that expand social dialogue on gender equality

Pre- and post- test survey; Tabulate

Q N/A 0 0 0 3 0 5 7 Intermediate result indicator, Mission PMP 4.1.a From training that includes gender topics

4.3.b Number of policy recommendations made with USAID assistance designed to promote gender equity or non-discrimination


Q 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 Intermediate result indicator, F GNDR-1, (Mission PMPF GNDR-1)

fiscal reform and public financial management activity

Documents