in the country; the introduction of markets to mobilise savings and investment financing; and, liberalising and regulating the insurance business. 578. Various reform outcomes and the remaining challenges are also presented. The outcomes include: an expansion of banking sector institutions; introduction of both mobile and internet banking; the resiliation of non-performing loans in state-owned banks through the Loans and Advances Resiliation Trust; restructuring and privatisation of two government banks; the liquidation of one state-owned bank; expansion of the inter-bank forex market; expansion of insurance institutions, establishment of the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange; expansion of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS) and Village Banks. The remaining challenges are: inadequate access to financial services by the majority of the population; inadequate development of finance infrastructure; high borrowing rates making it difficult for the larger segment of the population to access credit; and, harsh terms and lending conditions by banks. 579. The CSAR further states that the Second Generation Financial Sector Reforms are being implemented to address the remaining legal and structural constraints to make financial services more accessible and affordable for a majority of Tanzanians. 580. The CSAR examines macroeconomic policies that enhance economic growth. One such is an appropriate a fiscal framework for improved government revenue collection. It notes that the last ten years have seen an improvement in tax administration in line with TRA’s Corporate Plan, resulting in an upward trend in revenue collection. 581. On the budgeting process, the CSAR discusses the national budgeting and the formulation of expenditure frameworks and processes. The budgeting process involves determining resources and using them to attain government objectives. It also serves as a tool for economic and financial management and accountability, as well as a mechanism for resource allocations to different needs and priorities. The whole process essentially involves budget formulation, scrutiny of budget proposals and dialogue, budget execution, and budget monitoring and control. It is a process linked to a chain of interventions, and legal and regulatory mechanisms that facilitate the preparation of budget estimates, authorisation, implementation, control and accounting. The relevant facilitating legal frameworks and participating parties are specified. 582. The legal basis of the budget is more specifically stated in articles of the Constitution: the 1982 Local Government Finances Act; the Public Finance Act (Cap. 348); the Finance Act; and, the Appropriation Act. The Public Finance Acts provides the legal framework for budget revenue, expenditure control and accountability. The Appropriation Act enpowers to the Minister for Finance to draw money from the Consolidated Fund and allocate it to the various votes. The Finance Act authorises the Minister of Finance to mobilise resources by levying taxes to raise funds to finance the budget. 583. The MTEF Committee prepares budget guidelines containing an overview of macroeconomic performance, medium-term projections for priority sectors, and the budget frame and vote expenditure ceilings based on resource availability. Development Partners are also consulted. A Task Force – chaired by the then Ministries of Finance and Economic Affairs (both Mainland and Zanzibar) - invites stakeholder opinions, through open debate and dialogue, from Government, private sector, civil society academia and professionals, among others, in order to enhance transparency and receive expert input. The resultant budget proposals are then scrutinised by an Inter-ministerial Committee of all Permanent Secretaries before submission to the cabinet for approval. The approved budget is then submitted to Parliament for authorisation. Sectoral Parliamentary Committees scrutinise the budget before debate and authorisation by the entire house through enactment of the Appropriation Bill. 584. On the expenditure process, the CSAR spells out the PER process and the concomitant MTEF whose objective is to monitor the budget process in terms of management, control and accountability. The PER has been in operation since 1998. Key stakeholders in the process are the Ministry of Finance, President’s Office, Public Service Management, Regional Administration and Local Government, sector ministries, Tanzania Revenue Authority, Bank of Tanzania, Research Institutions, Development Partners and Civil Society. The principal objective of this process is to consult, enhance budget sustainability, promote synchronised expenditure objectives, and strengthen output-oriented budgeting. 124