Doha
30 April 2017

The Qatar Institute for Public Finance (QIPF), in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance (MoF), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), organized a press conference in Doha today, to highlight some of the valuable outcomes and insights drawn over the three days of a workshop entitled ‘Value-for-Money in Government – How to Achieve Better Services at Lower Costs’, recently held at the Qatar Finance and Business Academy (QFBA).

The workshop aimed to address economic challenges and declining growth rates through the development of sustainable and efficient public finance strategies that reduce public spending and increase its efficiency, by means of the optimal use of available resources. The topics discussed were addressed through financial and economic research related to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, prepared by a number of international experts.

The purpose of the workshop is to illustrate reforms in the government system that have proven successful in the OECD countries from a value-for-money perspective, and which can be included in the Qatari reform agenda. More recently, many OECD member states have faced significant economic and financial challenges, which has focused public and political attention on “value for money” in government – which means “getting the best public services at the lowest cost”. Similarly, Qatar has engaged in a series of reforms aimed at modernizing the public sector, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public services, and maximizing the use of value creation in the public sector.

Commenting on this special event, Dr. Abdulaziz Al Horr, CEO of QFBA, said “The workshop achieved its set objectives, during which the results of the research conducted by an elite group of academics in financial and economic fields related to sustainable and efficient financial strategies in the MENA region, which contribute to reducing public spending and raising its efficiency without compromising the quality of services and products provided, in order to achieve financial balance and economic stability.”

He said “During the workshop, we certainly stressed the importance of continuing to train public sector employees, develop their capacities and hone their skills by offering specialized training programs and workshops in the area of cost efficiency improvement through cutting public sector spending.”

In conclusion of the workshop, a presentation was made on the role of the Ministry of Finance in the management of the economy and financial planning, followed by a panel discussion, during which information and views were discussed on key topics, such as the promotion of policy development, including reviewing aspects of expenditure, streamlining government mechanisms, and developing administrative efficiency and accountability.

The workshop also addressed key fiscal procedures and their possible adaptation towards reducing expenditure, as well as discussing the actions that governments can take to raise the level of cost efficiency.

The QIPF workshop on reducing public spending and raising its efficiency, comes as part of the Institute’s efforts to empower professionals, institutions and organizations by providing the knowledge and expertise they need in public finance.

In collaboration with QFBA, and the MoF, the Institute is organizing regular workshops and seminars designed to raise the level of efficiency of public financial management in Qatar and the MENA region.