eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
Zimbabwe must improve on providing sufficient budget information to enable the public to engage in budget discussions in an informed manner, an Open Budget Survey 2017 conducted by the International Budget Partnership has revealed.
The International Budget Partnership (IBP) collaborates with civil society around the world to analyse and influence public budgets in order to reduce poverty and improve on the quality of governance.
According to IBP, Zimbabwe, which has an open budget score of 23 out of 100, instead of at least 60, is not transparent enough to enable the public to engage in budget discussions in an informed manner.
IPB said Zimbabwe provided very minimal budget information in 2017, worse than it did in 2015 when a similar survey was conducted.
IBP considers countries that score above 60 on the Open Budget Index (Transparency) as providing sufficient budget information. On the Open Budget Index, Zimbabwe has a lowly score of 23.
Problems associated with a lack of budget transparency are compounded by few opportunities for public participation in budgeting and by the existence of weak and ineffective oversight institutions.
In order to improve on the score, IPB said Zimbabwe should prioritise publishing online and in a timely manner “an Enacted Budget and In-Year Reports.” IPB, however, said Zimbabwe has provided both the Enacted Budget and In-Year Reports in the 2017 period.
IBP also said Government must also, “ensure that the executive’s budget proposal that is posted online matches the printed version.
“Increase the information on expenditure and revenue provided in the Executive’s Budget Proposal by including expenditure by functional classification and individual sources of tax and non-tax revenue,” said IBP.
On public participation, IBP said Zimbabwe, with a score of 9, provides few opportunities for the public to engage in the budget process.
On this, Zimbabwe is ahead of Angola and Mozambique, both with a score of seven, but behind Malawi, Botswana, and Zambia at 15 each.
To improve on public participation, IPB said Zimbabwe should, among other things “hold legislative hearings on the Audit Report, during which members of the public or civil society organizations can testify.”
“Pilot mechanisms led by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning for members of the public and executive branch officials to exchange views on national budget matters during both the formulation of the national budget and the monitoring of its implementation.
“These mechanisms could build on innovations, such as participatory budgeting and social audits,” IBP said.
Out of all the measures conducted by IBP, the country’s highest score of 44 was on the provision of budget oversight by legislature and audit.
In terms of formulation and approval of the Budget, Zimbabwe has a score of 33 out of 100 while in terms of execution and Audit, the country has a score of 53.
“The legislature provides limited oversight during the budget cycle. This score reflects that the legislature provides weak oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and limited oversight during the implementation stage of the budget cycle,” said IBP.
IPB recommends that Zimbabwe should ensure that legislative committees publish reports on their analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal online to make budget oversight more effective.
The country should also “ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.”
There is also need to “publish the reports of the independent fiscal institution on macroeconomic and fiscal forecasts and on cost estimates of new policy proposals online,” said IBP.
The Open Budget Survey 2017 measures whether governments in 115 countries produce and make publicly available online and in a timely manner eight key budget documents recommended by international good practices. It also examines formal oversight institutions and opportunities for public participation in national budget decision making.
According to IBP, “In recent years, there has been a decline in public trust around the world, in part due to governments that have been unable or unwilling to respond to major challenges, such as mismanagement of public resources and dramatic increases in inequality.
“Because open and accountable public budgeting is at the heart of democratic practice, it is the first place to look for ways to strengthen the interaction between governments and citizens,” said IBP.
