Improve public accountability framework and the performance development process of the Court of Auditors and the Inspectorate-General for Finance, are the purpose of the Technical Assistance that CESO will implement in São Tomé and Principe.

 The Technical Assistance for the Court of Auditors and for the Inspectorate-General for Finance in audits and public finance control falls under a broader project (Support for Sao Tome and Principe Financial and Economic Management – PAGEF), which, considering the prediction of a flow of oil resources, aims to strengthen the human and institutional capacities that can contribute to improve the management of public resources and the diversification of the economy.

In this context, the Technical Assistance will have as main areas of intervention, the increase of the capacity of the internal control and reinforcement in external audit of public finances. At the same time it will provide the elaboration of the strategy to improve the Court's Audit and the revision of the legal framework for financial accountability.

The first area will be directed for the Control Systems diagnosis and for the definition of strategies for the improvement and elaboration of organic texts of the Court of Auditors; in this respect, it will be focused in obtaining the necessary information for the formulation of diagnosis and in the appropriate strategies to control such texts.

A second phase is related to the procedures systematization of the Auditors Court's and Finance General Inspection having, as main purpose, the preparation of the Procedures Manual in order to contribute for a better performance of those institutions.

In the first phase it is foreseen, namely, the preparation of a Diagnostic Study protocol on country monitoring and a workshop to present and discuss the proposed improvement strategy with the auditors from the Court of Auditors and inspectors from the Finance General Inspection.

Considering the Organic Law and Processes proposal for the Court of Auditors an inventory of existing legislation, working sessions will be organized with the Court of Auditors, prosecutors, and other interlocutors. Finally it will be drawn up an organic law and processes (draft version) for the Court mentioned above.

In the second phase, in what concerns the preparation of the Administrative Procedures Manual, financial and accounting from the Court of Auditors and the General Inspectorate of Finance, support will be provided for the organization of workshops organization providing, in this field, training with officials of each institutions.

The Technical Assistance will have duration of 8 months and will be funded by the African Development Bank.

August 2016