(2018-11) Budget Framework Circular for FY2018-2019 (November version)

MEF • 2018

Summary — This is the November 2018 budget-framework circular ('lettre de cadrage') for the FY2018-2019 Finance Law, signed by Prime Minister Jean Henry Ceant and addressed to all spending-unit authorizing officers. It sets the macroeconomic assumptions, priority spending axes, and expenditure discipline rules for preparing the FY2018-2019 budget.

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Key Findings

FY2018-2019 macro-fiscal targets: real GDP growth 2.8%, average annual inflation 14.7% (12.7% end-of-period), tax pressure about 16.6%, budget deficit below 2% of GDP.
Domestically-financed public investment targeted at 15%+ of domestic revenue, up from an estimated 10% in FY2017-2018.
FY2017-2018 outturn: GDP growth estimated at 1.4% (vs 1.3% prior year); fiscal revenue of 79.6 billion gourdes, up 6% but only about 80% of the revised budget forecast.
Gourde depreciated 11.6% from October 2017 to 28 September 2018, versus a 4.3% appreciation the year before.
Government signals intent to pursue a 3-year IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program; Education and Public Health ministries designated as program-budgeting pilots under the 2016 LEELF law.

Full Description

Issued by the Office of the Prime Minister on 7 November 2018, this circular instructs all authorizing officers of public administration institutions on the preparation of the FY2018-2019 draft Finance Law. It reviews the FY2017-2018 macroeconomic context (GDP growth estimated at 1.4% versus 1.3% the prior year, driven by commerce, transport/communication, and construction; annual inflation decelerating slightly to 14.1% in August 2018 from 15.4% in September 2017; the gourde depreciating 11.6% between October 2017 and 28 September 2018 versus a 4.3% appreciation the year before; and fiscal revenue of 79.6 billion gourdes, up 6% but only about 80% of the revised budget target), noting the disruptive effect of the 6-8 July 2018 riots. It restates the government's seven priority axes for the presidential five-year term and sets FY2018-2019 macro-fiscal assumptions of 2.8% real GDP growth (led by agriculture and construction), average annual inflation of 14.7% (12.7% end-of-period), a tax-pressure ratio of about 16.6%, a budget deficit below 2% of GDP, and domestically-financed public investment reaching at least 15% of domestic revenue (up from an estimated 10% in FY2017-2018), with Treasury bond issuance favored over central bank financing. The letter also directs strict expenditure discipline: no commitments beyond approved credits without prior financial-controller authorization, no new hires or appointments (except for the Haitian National Police force build-up) without prior Prime Ministerial approval, one retirement per new recruitment, a 90-day maximum payment delay for suppliers, and monthly online publication by MEF of subsidies granted by public institution. It flags an intended IMF Extended Credit Facility (ECF) program over the following three years and designates the Ministries of Education and Public Health as pilot ministries for program-based budgeting under the 4 May 2016 organic budget law (LOLF/LEELF).

Topics

Geography

Time Coverage

2017-10 — 2019-09

Keywords

lettre de cadrage, budget circular, Loi de Finances 2018-2019, cadrage budgetaire, Jean Henry Ceant, deficit budgetaire, pression fiscale, FEC FMI, LEELF, discipline budgetaire

Entities

Primature, MEF, MPCE, Fonds Monetaire International (FMI), Police Nationale d'Haiti, Ministere de l'Education, Ministere de la Sante Publique, Inspection Generale des Finances

Notes

The document is a budget circular ('lettre de cadrage') signed by Prime Minister Jean Henry Ceant on 7 November 2018 and addressed to spending-unit authorizing officers, MEF, and MPCE; it is treated here under MEF per batch assignment, though the actual issuer/signatory is the Office of the Prime Minister (Primature). This November version follows an earlier June 2018 edition of the same circular in the corpus.