Henceforth, all the ministries, local government bodies and other government agencies will have to submit Annual Performance Agreement (APA) targets along with the budget proposal. The targets will be submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Gross National Happiness Commission (GNHC) and the finance ministry for a review, after which a budget would be approved. APA is a basis for evaluating overall performance at the end of the year.
All the government agencies will have to adhere to this change in the APA formulation process for the 2021-2022 financial year.
During the APA preparation review in the capital yesterday, it was found that so far, all public offices have only submitted the budget proposals without precise targets.
“The APA and Government performance management system as a whole has been blamed for setting soft and easy targets. This has hampered differentiating agencies that are performing and those not performing so well. So one of the differences will be trying to review the process and strengthening the Government Performance Management System (GPMS),” said Chencho, the Director of Cabinet Secretariat.
The Director added that all government offices have been asked to submit their APA targets and budget proposals for the financial year 2021-2022 to the PMO, GNHC and the finance ministry by tomorrow.
The three national coordinating bodies will review and screen out targets of less priority and then approve the budget.
The signing of APA was established some six years to ensure check and balance and strengthen good governance in the Bhutanese government structure.
Choni Dema
