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Civil society and public expenditure What can parliament gain from opening the budget process to public participation? Rick Stapenhurst Governance Team.

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Presentation on theme: "Civil society and public expenditure What can parliament gain from opening the budget process to public participation? Rick Stapenhurst Governance Team."— Presentation transcript:

1 Civil society and public expenditure What can parliament gain from opening the budget process to public participation? Rick Stapenhurst Governance Team World Bank Institute (WBI)

2 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

3 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

4 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

5 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)

6 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

7 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

8 Where to find out more about civil society’s role in the budget International Budget Project www.internationalbudget.org


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