Welcome to the June
2008 edition of Insight, a
publication produced by
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Advisory Services Group. In this
issue we demonstrate fi ve ways
in which Advisory Services have
assisted governments in Africa
and elsewhere to establish
systems and procedures
aimed at improving the quality
of service provision to their
populations.
From the benefi ts of public-private
collaboration in India to better
deliver public services, through
promoting ethics in Tanzania public
service; to reforming the fi nancial
management of the Ministry of
Health and Social Welfare in a
post-confl ict environment, Liberia;
the Advisory team has shown it can
make a difference to the lives of
millions of people. Many of these
live below that intangible, yet to
them very real level, the poverty line.
In this edition we also bring you
insights from the United States,
where strides are being made
to improve strategic planning
processes. This is an area of special
signifi cance to African governments,
where often resources are severely
constrained. In Tanzania and
Zambia, for example, the strategic
plans provide a basis for preparing
Medium Term Expenditure
Framework (MTEF) submissions.
However, there are challenges
around strengthening the linkages
between planning and budgeting,
especially when there are insuffi cient
resources available in the MTEF to
fund initiatives in the strategic plan.
If proper guidance is not available,
the utility of strategic plans
diminishes.
In addition we place the spotlight
on private sector development.
In recent years, government
and international development
agency initiatives have produced
mixed results in this area. Some
approaches have aimed at major
regulatory reform, while others have
intervened to deliver products and
services directly to ‘get things done’,
with great achievements in some
countries countered by an obvious
lack of success elsewhere. We ask
what has worked and what hasn’t
and why it is that in some countries
poor people have experienced huge
improvements in their lives, whilst
in others, the numbers of poor have
grown and their prospects appear
increasingly bleak?
The articles in this edition are written
by PricewaterhouseCoopers staff
who are working at the front line of
service delivery in partnership with
governments, donor agencies, the
private sector and civil society.
They’re a vibrant, enthusiastic and
dedicated group of people who
join us with sound international
qualifi cations and a strong
desire to be part of a team that
can bring change for the better
in many developing countries.
They also carry with them
PricewaterhouseCoopers’ ethics,
diligence and commitment to every
assignment they take on.
As head of Advisory Services
for Africa Central I am proud
to say these experts work for
PricewaterhouseCoopers and they
are not alone. Advisory Services is
built around people like them, who
offer sound, feasible and effective
long-term advice to governments,
so that they in turn can make life
easier for those who rely on them,
especially the poorest members of
the population.
However, PricewaterhouseCoopers
does not pretend that this is easy.
As one writer says: “there are no
shortcuts – country authorities
should be prepared for long
implementation paths involving
challenges and complex learning
processes.”
If those that ask for our advice
are prepared for this and are also
prepared to accept meaningful and
long-term change, then we can work
well together. If we listen to and
learn from each other we can all win
in the end. That’s why we’re here.
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