for medium-term fiscal management, as well as an effective system of fiscal decentralisation. The country operates an open and participatory budgeting process that is both top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top. Every year, through the MoFED, government also embarks on a foreign and public debt sustainability analysis in the context of the IMF Article IV Consultations. The CSAR concludes that the legal and regulatory framework is adequate to promote public finance management. There are well-established rules and procedures for collection, budgeting, transfers, accounting and auditing of public finance, at all tiers of government. Institutional Development 368 Government has developed a legal framework aimed at enhancing openness, timeliness and ownership of the planning and budgeting processes by all stakeholders at the federal and regional levels of government. The CSAR discussed some notable reforms put in place in order to promote sound public finance management in Ethiopia. These include the 1995 Constitution – requiring the Council of Ministers to prepare a draft budget for presentation to the House of People’s Representatives for debate and approval25; the introduction of Expenditure Management and Control Programme (EMCP); a new chart of accounts; a zero balance cash management system; and, the Federal Government of Ethiopia Financial Administration Proclamation No. 57/1996 directing the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to establish the format for the annual budgetary submissions and set budget request ceilings. The proclamation also makes the Council of Ministers responsible for ensuring that Regional Governments remain accountable for subsidies and that they have a financial management and reporting system consistent with the proclamation. These reforms have brought about significant advances; increasing the level of credibility in public finance management, especially in fiscal decentralisation, expenditures and revenue administration and management, in the context of the national budget. 369 Additionally, the law in Ethiopia requires that the national budget, once prepared, be submitted to the Council of Ministers for review upon which it is tabled in the House of People’s Representatives (HoPR) – the Parliament – deliberated upon and approved, thereby increasing transparency and accountability. To further increase accountability and oversight, the government is also required - under the Protection of Basic Sources (PBS) programme - to post quarterly and annual 25 Other key measures include the establishment of an autonomous Revenue and Customs Authority (RCA) responsible for revenue collection; Proclamation on the definition of power and duties of the executive organs (04/1995); Council of Ministers Financial Regulations No.17/1997; Federal Government of Ethiopia Proclamation establishing the Office of the Federal Auditor General No. 68/1997; Proclamation on the establishment of Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (235/2001); Federal Government of Ethiopia Proclamation Determining Procedures of Public Procurement and Establishing Supervisory Proclamation No. 430/2005; Federal Public Procurement Directive, MOFED, July 2005. - 154 -