Civil society and public expenditureWhat can parliament gain from opening the budget process to public participation?

Rick StapenhurstGovernance TeamWorld Bank Institute (WBI)

Overview

What can civil society offer? At what stage during the budget process

can civil society input be useful? Case study 1: supporting parliament’s

role in scrutinising the draft budget Case study 2: supporting parliament in

ensuring follow-up to recommendations based on audit findings

Steps toward enabling participation

What can civil society offer?

Education, e.g. budget guides & training

Independent analyses of budget systems,

e.g. transparency & participation studies

Independent analyses of budget policy

Expenditure tracking

Direct participation

At what stage during the budget process can civil society input be useful?

Drafting Legislating Execution Audit

Pre-budget statements

Submissions

Expenditure tracking

Follow-up investigations

Case study 1: civil society support of ex ante scrutiny by parliament

Budget Information Service (BIS) of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa)

Established after democratic elections to actively support the new parliament

Regular submissions to national and provincial legislative committees on draft budgets and public finance legislation

Key contribution in the design of the legislative cornerstone of budget reform, the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA)

Participation has stimulated participation of other civil society groups

Similar groups elsewhere in Africa, e.g. IEA (Kenya), CCJP (Zambia), ISODEC (Ghana)

Case study 2: civil society support of ex post scrutiny by parliament

Public Sector Accountability Monitor (PSAM) Works closely with the relevant legislature Follows-up reported cases of corruption and

misconduct with the departments concerned Interview with relevant head of department to

establish what the disciplinary outcome of the case was

Interviews are recorded and made available in text and audio format on the internet

In the event of a non-response the PSAM will then request this information in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act

Steps towards enabling participation

Opening parliament and its committees to the media and the general public

Example: 63% of OECD legislatures open hearings to the public and the media

Making information before parliament publicly available, including committee reports

Calling for submissions on the budget and legislation, and inviting outside experts

Educating civil society about parliamentary procedure, constraints and needs

Engaging with civil society about what is needed to establish a co-operative relationship

Where to find out more about civil society’s role in the budget

International Budget Project

www.internationalbudget.org