Energising & Empowering Civil
Society Engagement with Public
Budgets and Expenditure in
Southern Africa
Centre for Economic Governance and AIDS in Africa
Open Governance Partnership – 12 July 11
CEGAA is an NPO that empowers citizens and civil society
structures to engage with their governments’ budget and
expenditure with regards to HIV/AIDS, health and other
development issues, and to monitor the outputs of the
spending – ie. The quality of services rendered, at the
community level.
In South Africa CEGAA also undertakes budget monitoring,
costing, expenditure tracking and training of public officials
in budgeting & financial information systems.
Tools we support partners to use
• Budget analysis & expenditure tracking tools
• Citizen Report Card
• Citizen Satisfaction Survey
• Public hearing and accountability forums with
citizens and public officials
• HIV/AIDS expenditure tracking software
(UNAIDS: Resource Tracking Software)
• Excel - presentation of impactful findings
• Training for public officials in costing, budgeting,
financial management, improving financial
information systems
NANGO and members of the Zimbabwean
Budget Coalition are trained in analysing their
government’s budget
The Zimbabwe Budget Coalition
work on developing community
monitoring tools of various services
In Zimbabwe, members of the Community
Working Group on Health engage the Ministry
of Health on issues of access to health services
Zimbabweans demand their
right to health.
In South Africa, the ART patients
reported long queues for their drugs
TAC & CEGAA present the evidence
at public hearings in SA
Public Hearing in SA – officials listen
to the people
CEGAA’s assessment of total
spending on HIV/AIDS and TB in
SADC countries
CEGAA’s assessment of the per capita HIV/AIDS
spending by region/ area can identify issues of
equity and efficiency in delivery
CEGAA’s comparison of regional HIV prevention
spending – assists countries determine if they are
targeting effective prevention interventions
CEGAA examined the cost drivers and efficiency of
the delivery of ART by region -variations showing
need for improved efficiency
In forward projecting the impact & costs
of an expanded response to HIV/AIDS
in South Africa, CEGAA found a potential
funding shortfall – data which should
mobilise govt & donors & business
sector to collaborate more transparently
in the future development of their new
Strategic Plan and resource mobilisation
Projecting the impact of expanded
spending on HIV incidence
Projecting the costs of an
expanded response to HIV in SA
Estimating the Funding Gap –
Mobilising Resources
Requirements for Civil Society
engagement
• Online access to timely budgetary and expenditure data, linked to
performance indicators. e.g. South Africa OBI rating & People’s
Budget
• All development partners giving funds to Africa should declare and
align their intentions, spending & longer-term commitments with
the national priorities.
• District level budget/ development committees, involving citizens
and public officials – to determine their district’s needs, set
priorities, budget for these, and monitor spending on them.
• HIV/AIDS multi-sectoral co-ordinating structures with political power
& commitment, to which all actors must report regularly - activities
and spending.
• Innovative technology can transform citizens’ access to information
– but key is the individual’s experience for their motivation for
involvement
Enhanced Budget Monitoring and
Expenditure Tracking
• Empowers citizens to understand what their governments are
doing with public funds
• Helps them identify the key challenges with the financial
information systems, which are limiting sound economic
governance
• So as to demand increases in efficient spending
• Also to call for improved financial data systems that will enhance
transparency and accountability
• It is not enough for citizens to be empowered with these tools –
government officials responsible for priority setting, costing,
budgeting, and spending according to plan require skills and
enhanced financial information systems, esp. at local levels
• All partners need to be transparent and accountable for their
activities and spending, especially development partners
South African Efforts
• Public Finance Management Act – governs all levels of public finance
• Presidential Hotline where public can lodge their complaints about
service delivery
• Know Your Service Rights Campaign, launched 2007
• Integrated Financial Management System being developed
• Operation Clean Audit 2014 – all municipalities & provincial depts
have achieved clean audits of their financial statements
• Financial Management Capability Maturity Model – to ass capacity of
public institutions
• Money Bills Amendment Procedure Act (2009) – Allows Parliament to
hold govt accountable, to interrogate their deployment of resources,
& gives them power to amend the budget
• Integrated Development Plans at district level engaging communities
• National key performance areas (KPAs) for local govt and all Ministers
sign collaborative Delivery Agreements
• National Framework for Ward Funding
• Municipal Infrastructure Grants
• Local Economic Development Plans
Thank You
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For further information, contact:
Nhlanhla Ndlovu or Teresa Guthrie
CEGAA
nhlanhla@cegaa.org teresa@cegaa.org
Tel: +27-21-425-2852
www.cegaa.org