Government-by-Government Assessments: Niger
During the review period, the government made its executive budget proposal, enacted budget, and end-of-year report accessible to the public, including online. Information on debt obligations was publicly available. Niger published state-owned enterprise debt information, although not within a reasonable period of time. Budget documents provided an incomplete picture of the government’s planned expenditures and revenue streams, with insufficient detail on allocations to and earnings from state-owned enterprises. The government published revised budgets when revenues and expenditures deviated from initial projections. The supreme audit institution meets international standards of independence. It audited the government’s executed budget and made its audit reports publicly available within a reasonable period of time. The criteria and procedures by which the national government awards contracts or licenses for natural resource extraction were specified in law and regulation, but the government does not appear to have consistently followed applicable laws and regulations in practice. Basic information on natural resource extraction awards was publicly available. Niger’s fiscal transparency would be improved by:
* ensuring budget documents include allocations to, earnings from, and debt holdings of state-owned enterprises;
* more accurately estimating budget revenues and expenditures; and
* following in practice applicable laws and procedures for awarding contracts and licenses for natural resource extraction.
Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
