Economic Governance Program
Program Snapshot
- Award Amount: $223.3 million
- Start/End Dates: September 2004 - June 2009
- Implementer: BearingPoint
Building an Investor-Friendly
Market Economy
Currency exchange in Iraq
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USAID's economic governance program assists the Government of Iraq in creating an economic policy environment that encourages investment, and is transparent. To do this, USAID provides advisory and training services to help develop a sound fiscal and monetary framework.
In its closing months, the Economic Governance program is currently focused on two areas of reform, both of which involve automated information technology systems: a financial management information system for the Ministry of Finance, and a social safety net system for the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Iraqi Financial Management Information System
USAID is helping to establish the Iraqi Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) which is an automated budget compilation and tracking system that is replacing the manual system that has been in use since the 1960's. IFMIS is part of a multi-national pubic financial management plan for modernizing Iraq's financial management system.
Establishing a Sound Social Safety Net System
To reduce poverty, the program has helped to develop a social safety net system that offers an automated system for the registration and calculation of benefits. It is being rolled out across Iraq, and more than one million families are registered and receiving benefits.
The current priority is to finalize the database of beneficiaries, so that it is efficient, weeds out ineligible beneficiaries, and prevents fraud and abuse.
Program Highlights:
- Social safety net system being rolled out nationwide, with one million families currently receiving benefits;
- Pension law passed and a sustainable pension administration system that also reaches the private sector is being established;
- Accounting systems automated through new financial management information system;
- Monetary policy tools, including foreign exchange auction, reserve requirements, and overnight deposits, developed for the Central Bank; and
- Integration of business registry systems eases start-up requirements, with 47,000 businesses registered across the country.
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