4.6. Budget Transparency

The budget is the principal policy document of government, where the government’s policy objectives are reconciled and implemented in concrete terms. Budget transparency – openness about policy intentions, formulation and implementation – is therefore at the core of good governance agenda. The extent to which budget achieves any or all of its purposes is dependent on its transparency. If we take a look at fiscal transparency in concrete terms, we can say that it has three essential elements:

♤ The first is the release of budget data. The systematic and timely release of all relevant fiscal information provided for analysis and conclusions by decision makers is what we typically associate with budget transparency. It is an absolute pre-requisite, but it is not enough.

♤ The second element is an effective role for the legislature. It must be able to scrutinize the budget reports and independently review them. It must be able to debate and influence budget policy and be in a position to effectively hold the government to account. This is both in terms of the constitutional role of the legislature and the level of resources that the legislature has at its disposal.

♤ The third element is an effective role for civil society, through the media and nongovernmental organisations. Citizens, directly or through these vehicles, must be in a position to influence budget policy and must be in a position to hold the government to account. In many ways, it is a similar role to that of the legislature albeit only indirectly.