SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY STOCKTAKING EXERCISE
FOR AFRICA
AFRICA BUDGET PROJECT
Methodology Type
Specify whether (i)PB, (ii)IBA, (iii)BPET, or (iv) PPM (can select more than
one option as some SA initiatives do not fit neatly into these categories)
Budget Transparency, Participation &
Accountability
Africa Budget Project at the Budget Information
Service of IDASA.
Multi-country Africa initiative that includes
Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia
Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda & Zimbabwe
All spheres of government.
Continuous Engagement
Name of Intervention
Basic
Information
Primary Agency Running
Intervention
Location
Sector or Level of Focus
Type of Engagement
What is the driving force behind
the SA initiative?
The key idea of the study was to look at budget
transparency, participation and accountability
from the view point of the ordinary citizen and
legislature and ask what information they would
need to assess the link between policy priorities,
spending and services (in other words what is
required to engage meaningfully with budget
decisions and other decisions about the
management of public resources).
(1) To identify the major weaknesses in the budget
process that constitute an impediment for
transparency, accountability and participation;
Context and
Scope
What are the main objectives and
what key accountability problems
does it seek to address?
(2) Building civil society research and analytic
capacity;
(3) Providing the country’s citizenship,
researchers and international institutions with an
independent and credible assessment of the budget
process, which also allows it to be compared to
similar reports for other countries in Africa.
Who is the target audience or
demographic focus?
Civil society and other non-governmental
organizations, the legislature, government, the
media, and any other independent budget/public
finance analysts.
What is the political culture or
environment?
Democratic governments – with local country
dynamics
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What specific SA tools and
methodologies are being used?
Case study methodology that involves the
conducting of interviews and desk based research:
Tools:
- semi-structured questionnaire
- literature review
- audit of budget documentation
Three-dimensional Study Framework
(1) Budget process (transparency in the
drafting process, in the legislative phase
of the budget process, during
implementation of the budget and after
the fact during the audit phase.
Tools and
Methodologies
Used
Briefly describe the
methodology(/ies) or tools used.
(2) Three aspects of transparency
- Availability of information
- Clarity of Roles and
Responsibilities
- Systems and Capacity to
generate information and to use
the information to produce
better budgetary outcomes
(3) Strength of the transparency system (this
has to do with the legal framework and
the difference between the framework and
practice.
Specific issues:
-
What advocacy and media
activities support the initiative?
How inclusive was the
intervention?
Extra budgetary activities
Donor funding
Civil society participation
Country specific issues
News coverage, publishing of news paper and
shorter research articles, lobbying with other
cso’s.
Relies in civil society organizations to reach out to
various other stakeholder groups.
Intervention builds the analytic and research
capacity of the participating country team
members (the research team consists of
representatives from civil society organizations
and the academia).
Participation
Other Important Information or
Comments
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What (if any) has been the impact
of the initiative? What have been
the incentives?
Since this is a multi-country initiative the impact of
the different case studies differs across the 9
participating countries. However, the study
facilitated:
- greater awareness of budgetary issues
around transparency, participation and
accountability;
- increased research and analytic capacity
of participating organizations;
- improved civil society participation in the
budget decision making process
- better understanding on the theory and
practice of fiscal transparency
- participation in budget reform issues
Is the methodology or initiative
institutionalized? Are there any
institutional linkages and
partnerships been established with
the government, parliaments,
media, NGOs, communities etc.?
Describe.
Partnership only with civil society organisations,
independent budget specialists and international
institutions (International Budget Project).
Results and
Impact
(If applicable) Has the initiative
been scaled up? Repeated?
What were the main outcomes of
the SA initiative
Bottlenecks/Problems What
difficulties did the agency or NGO
face, and how did they resolve
them. (COMMENT: This section
will yield rich insights on
innovations that can be shared.)
Further
Every two years we hope to update the existing
participating country studies and include 4-5 new
countries.
1. analysis of the budget process to make
explicit systematic shortfalls in
transparency provisions and practices;
2. ensuring civil society’s active
participation as members of the research
team, but also as participants in the
reference group meetings;
3. clear recommendations from civil society
Examples:
- high cost (framework/training workshops)
- staff turn-over within organizations
- access to budget related information
- conducting interviews (securing
appointments)
http://www.idasa.org.za (Programme: Budget
Information Service; Unit: Africa Budget Project
Web sources
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References
-
Documents and Reports
-
-
Transparency and Participation in the
Budget Process: South Africa a country
report.
Budget Transparency and Participation:
Five African Case Studies: Ghana,
Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia
Transparency and Participation in the
Budget process: Zambia, a country report
Budget Transparency and Participation:
Nine African Case Studies: Botswana,
Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia,
Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and
Zambia.
La transparency et la participation dans
le processus budgétaire. Burkina Faso,
Une étude de cas
1. Botswana: Molefe B. Phirinyane, Research Fellow with
the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
(BIDPA).
2. Burkina Faso: Professor Augustin Loada, Executive
Director of the Center for Democratic Governance
Ouagadougou
3. Ghana: Vitus A. Azeem, Centre for Budget Advocacy at
the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC)
4. Kenya: Albert Mwenda from the Institute for Economic
Affairs (IEA) and Bonfas Oduor-Owinga from the Social
Development Network (SODNET).
5. Namibia: Daniel Motinga and Robin Sherbourne,
Institute for Public Policy Research in Windhoek.
6. Nigeria: Oshuwa Gbadebo-Smith, managing consultant
with Harriet Davidson Consulting, Nigeria.
7. South Africa: Marritt Claassens, Manager Africa
Resource Persons/Contacts
Budget Project, IDASA
8. Uganda: Daisy Owomugasho, Uganda Debt Network.
9. Zambia: Inyambo Mwanawina, University of Zambia and
Kufekisa M.Akapelwa of the Catholic Commission for Justice
and Peace.
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