AISCUFF Meets in Rabat, Morocco

The Cour des comptes of the kingdom of Morocco welcomed the members of the Association of the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) having in common the use of the French language (AISCUFF), May 30-June 3, 2016, in Rabat, Morocco. More than 90 people gathered (representing 22 SAIs¹) at the event with the intent to educate participants on SAI independence, capacity building and communication.

The occasion was a joint effort among the French Cour des comptes, Moroccan Cour de comptes, International Organization of La Francophonie and the UNPD/France Pole of Dakar, who all supported training sessions that included capacity building and budgetary and financial discipline. The Senior Presidents of the Moroccan (Driss Jettou), the Ivorian (Kanvaly Diomande) and the French SAIs (Didier Migaud) opened the event.

Jettou noted the expansive turnout and participation of AISCUFF members, which, according to Migaud, is “the sign of the association’s dynamism and of the collective will to defend and promote the values shared by AISCUFF members in more frequent, visible and efficient common actions.”

Diomande reminded those present that the establishment of an independent and efficient SAI with jurisdictional functions was required in accordance with Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) and West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) public finance regulations. These control entities guarantee the good use of public resources, thus contributing to good governance and budgetary transparency. Beyond the control of public accounts, the Community directives aim to provide SAIs having jurisdictional function with new skills, such as evaluating public policy performance. In this context, the conference made it possible to assess the present state of affairs of Central and Western African SAIs.

At the end of the workshops and mutually beneficial networking exchanges among SAIs, a common declaration, the Rabat Declaration, written in support of two “regional road maps”, was adopted by all present AISCUFF members. The declaration is now the basis of a political advocacy to promote SAI interests within international bodies.

The regional economic Commissions, the regional SAIs and the SAIs of both zones’ member states pledge to support the implementation of the directives to ensure the independence and autonomy of SAIs; to elaborate human resource management strategies (to attract necessary talents); and to improve the visibility of publications to reinforce the acknowledgement of SAIs and the impact of their works on the lives of citizens.

1In attendance were the SAIs of : Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, CEMAC, Congo, Ivory Coast, France, Gabon, Haiti, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Central African Republic, Senegal, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, UEMOA, Union of the Comoros.