Namibia hosts AN-PBO conference in Swakopmund; minister links coastal welcome to push for stronger budget offices

# What happened

# Why the conference matters The event gathered budget offices, lawmakers, development partners and other stakeholders to discuss the role and institutional strength of PBOs and the modernisation of their analytical tools. The conference theme was "The Role of PBOs, Institutional Power and Modernising the PBO Toolkit."

Shafudah framed the discussions as timely because governments face rising expectations to deliver more with limited resources. She identified key fiscal pressures confronting African countries: debt sustainability challenges, climate and disaster financing needs, and stronger public demand for transparency and accountability in government spending.

• PBOs translate complex fiscal information into usable analysis for legislators, enabling better scrutiny of public spending. Shafudah emphasised that stronger PBOs help the legislature understand trade-offs inherent in budget decisions.

• Modernising PBO tools is necessary to meet contemporary fiscal challenges, including providing credible and transparent fiscal information that can inform policy debates and public oversight.

• A well-resourced and technically capable PBO can strengthen the work of finance ministries by ensuring that budget trade-offs are debated and owned by both executives and legislatures, which in turn connects to citizens through representative institutions.

# Practical implications for PBOs and legislatures

• Capacity building: PBOs will need training and staffing upgrades to handle outcome-based analysis, debt sustainability assessments and climate/disaster-related fiscal work.

• Tool modernisation: Upgrading analytical toolkits will be required to produce timely, transparent and credible fiscal analysis for lawmakers.

• Institutional design: Strengthening formal powers and resources for PBOs can improve legislative oversight of budgets and promote shared ownership of difficult fiscal choices.

# Contextual note on Namibia's hosting Shafudah positioned Swakopmund and Namibia's Erongo coastline as part of the country's welcome to the continent's delegates, encouraging delegates to engage in both formal deliberations and informal exchange of experiences.

# Takeaway for readers The conference saw Namibia present itself as a host that pairs hospitality with a clear message: as African governments confront constrained budgets and new fiscal pressures, investing in capable, modern Parliamentary Budget Offices and migrating to outcome-based budgeting are central steps to improve legislative oversight, transparency and public accountability.