Financial Transparency and Accountability in Ethiopia

Protection of Basic Services Development partners support the Government of Ethiopia and its citizens through the Protection of Basic Services (PBS) program. PBS II aims to contribute to expanding access and improving the quality of basic services while contributing to deepen transparency and local accountability in service delivery. To forward these objectives, the government-led and development partner Financial Transparency and Accountability (FTA) initiative was launched

A Government-Led Approach with Multiple Partners

Government Ownership GoE has developed a “Good Governance Package” (GGP). Elements of GGP are participation, consensus, responsiveness, transparency, accountability, fairness or equitable and inclusive, rule of law, efficiency and effectiveness. These GGP principles are harmonious with the objectives of the Financial Transparency and Accountability (FTA) component of the Protection of Basic Services (PBS) Project.

Focus of FTA Support the printing, dissemination and customization of tools to local conditions Institutionalize the FTA work into government systems Provide large-scale Budget Literacy Training Obtain feedback through experience sharing forums and other means

Improving Access to Budget and Expenditure Data – National Action In 2006 the GOE began publishing its budget online through MOFED GOE also provided guidelines for regions to disclose budget/ expenditure information to the public. As a result, budget disclosure is now institutionalized in the Government financial management system down to the district level.

Improving Access to Budget and Expenditure Data – Local Action District budget and spending information are posted on notice boards in public places- like market places and government offices. By 2009, more than 90% of Districts in the country had posted their budget and expenditure information in public venues. Thus, for the first time, budget information is made readily accessible to the public at different levels of Government.

Innovative Ways of Budget & Expenditure Information Dissemination Over time, some districts have gone beyond the use of spreadsheet forms and started publishing their budget on local newspapers, calendars, t-shirts and holiday brochures. Some also use community meetings, radio drama, and poems.

Innovative FTA Tools The FTA tools designed to address the needs of laypersons are (1) Simplified Budget Guide, (2) Simplified Laypersons Budget and Expenditure Templates, (3) Simplified Service Facility level templates, and (4) Budget Literacy Training Module. These tools were designed and pilot tested and validated and are owned by GOE They are disseminated to regions and districts and are customized to local contexts

Social Accountability Component • The through use of citizen report cards, participatory budgeting tools and other innovative tools, the project is promoting social accountability at the local level. • “Under PBS, support for FTA increases the supply of financial data to the public while the Social Accountability component helps see to the demand for greater transparency. Taken together, these components support the supply of and demand for good governance.“ – Xavier Furtado, Coordinator, PBS Secretariat

Financial Transparency and Accountability Perception Survey (FTAPS) FTAPS findings show that (a) citizens’ awareness of the public budget is very low and uncertainty about where budget decisions are made, (b) citizens’ have very limited access to information, (c) citizens have a strong interest in learning about their local public budget, and (d) citizens would like to see improvement in the delivery of basic services.

Results Templates providing budget information rolled-out in all of Ethiopia’s regions. Budget Literacy Training has been provided to 50,000 citizens to strengthen their understanding of the national budget process. Based on reviews and citizen feedback, a package complementary FTA tools were developed and utilized. Building the capacity of Government counterparts and institutionalizing the FTA initiative in Government systems helped to speed-up progress and resolved a number of earlier setbacks.

Challenges New methodologies and appropriate terms of reference associated with such initiatives require a learning phase. Applying a country-wide initiative to local context-specific tools presented design and implementation delays. Capacity building and ensuring quality of all deliverables required joint government and development partner cooperation. Ensuring sustainability demands close collaboration with other project teams so that they include FTA in the design of their projects.

Lessons Learned Change is possible! Working with the Government is essential. Designing the FTA initiative as an integral part of the PBS project helped the initiative get proper attention from all partners, including the Government. Political support is essential, and made possible by the fact that the FTA initiative complemented existing Government policy. Development Partner commitment to support the FTA initiative by earmarking adequate funds and providing continuous technical support is important to the FTA’s ongoing success. There is a need to create synergy between the FTA initiative and other donor supported projects.