The government signed the Annual Performance Agreement (APA) with the government agencies for the financial year 2018-2019. The agreement acts as a mechanism to inculcate a performance-based culture at all levels of government.
Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering signed APA with nine ministries, heads of 10 autonomous agencies, Thimphu Dzongda and Thimphu Thrompon. The ministers also signed APA with their respective Secretaries.
The APA sets annual targets of government agencies from the Five-Year Plan deliverables.
A news release from the cabinet secretariat states, normally, the signing of APA takes place after the Parliament passes the recommended budget in the summer session.
However, the APA 2018-2019 could not be signed on schedule due to the transition period of the government.
“Although we are behind schedule and left with just four months of the fiscal year, looking at the agreements submitted, I saw most works are recurring activities,” Prime Minister said.
Beginning this fiscal year, the National Technical Committee has come up with ‘APA-Quality Assurance Framework.’ Through this, the agreements submitted by the signatories are reviewed and rated prior to formal signing with the Prime Minister.
The framework ensures the agreements are thoroughly scrutinized and aligned with the national objectives highlighted in the Five-Year Plan document.
The signing of the APA with the other dzongkhags will be conducted soon.
