Objective 8: "Support continued fiscal and financial reforms, deregulation initiatives and other interventions, with appropriate consideration to macroeconomic stability and equity"
Other donors, particularly the IFIs, have been very active in providing assistance to fiscal and financial reform. National fiscal reform is beyond the mandate and outreach of the UN system, but areas of financial reform as it relates to equity, provision of social services and to poverty alleviation activities will continue to be supported by the UN. These include:
(i) Tax Reforms - In partnership with IMF, the UN will support fiscal reform with an emphasis on tax reforms which will enable a more equitable distribution of fiscal resources across the country, between rural and urban areas and between different strata in the population and men and women.
(ii) Financing of Social security - The urgent need for rural health financing (see objective 1) through various mechanisms, should be accompanied by the necessary enabling financial reform and form part of a nationwide social security system (objective 5). The UN will help identify options for solutions so that efforts are not only concentrated on urban schemes (e.g. risk pooling, insurance also for the poor such as micro-insurance facilities as part of microfinance schemes).
(iii) Opening up microfinance - Many UN agencies have supported microfinance activities with different social development components for poverty alleviation. While projects have generated some spectacular results in helping poor households, none of the interventions are sustainable beyond the life of the foreign-funded project. Hence achieving sustainability for microfinance activities within the context of the national programme for poverty alleviation will now be the focus of attention, with special attention to schemes designed for women. The UN system in close consultation with other partners will make a special effort to advocate the opening up of the microfinance sector. Emphasis will be put on allowing a diversified set of institutions to operate schemes (both savings and credits) and allowing commercial interest rates in order to ensure viability.
(iv) WTO entry and human development - The UN will support a WTO impact assessment mechanism to allow the government to detect and analyse any adverse impacts WTO and any trade agreements may have, particularly on vulnerable groups such as women, poor farmers and SMEs. In addition, other WTO-related interventions include assistance to the Government in increasing industrial competitiveness and introduction of quality management systems.