Staff of Nigeria’s Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) recently completed a one-week benchmarking and peer learning visit to the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) of Kenya, facilitated and sponsored by the IMF’s African Regional Technical Assistance Centre in West Africa (AFRITAC West 2) based in Accra.
The visit aimed to enhance knowledge sharing and best practices in managing public finance responsibilities and ecosystems between the two organizations, a statement by the FRC Spokesperson Bede Anyanwu noted.
Welcoming the 8-member team back to the Commission’s Abuja office, the Executive Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Victor Muruako Esq, emphasized the importance of training and peer learning activities in building the capacity of the Commission’s staff to carry out their mandate.
He expressed gratitude to the IMF, the Government of Kenya, and the Government of Nigeria for the valuable opportunity that was made available to the FRC staff to share knowledge with an established fiscal council, such as the Kenyan PBO.
The Chairman directed the participants to produce an actionable report that will inspire the implementation of new strategies within the Commission.
During their visit, the FRC team engaged with the Kenyan Commission on Revenue Allocation, the Office of the Auditor General, and the Controller of Budget, as well as the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning.
The delegation also met with the Budget and Appropriation Committees and was honored to witness parliamentary proceedings from the National Assembly gallery.
The highlight of the visit was the extensive interaction with the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) of Kenya, led by Dr. Martin Masinde, which provides independent analysis of the national budget and financial matters to support Parliament’s oversight role.
The Clerk of the Kenyan National Assembly, Mr. Samuel Njoroge, welcomed the FRC team and expressed his delight at the collaboration, stating that the visit will provide an opportunity for the National Assembly officers to also learn from the Nigerian delegation through the exchange of ideas.