Citizen engagement with the State and Budget Work Mario Claasen 11 th July, 2011 UN- Vienna
TAP & Budget Work Accountability: right to know how governments spend public finds & governments need to justify expenditures with legislative approval Participation: all actors have a right to participate in determining resource use Transparency: information access and clarity on the budget and the budget process
Role of CSOs in the Budget Cycle Focus is on national policy and national budget processes- often building their own capacities on understanding the latter Information is used in advocacy campaigns on service delivery at all levels of government Wide range of approaches has been used: -Deepening debate in legislature & public on policies & budgets -Collating & disseminating budget info into userfriendly formats -Providing training in budget analysis to other CSOs and/or legislature
Budget information in formulation phase is often limited or closed so most CSOs focus on the approval, implementation and auditing stages of the budget cycle Budget approval- target is often legislatures & media groups- submissions, simplified research on the budget & capacity building Budget implementation- actual expenditures as compared to national policies at various levels of government Budget auditing-determining if funds were spent for intended purposes
Uganda: Budget monitoring to fight corruption in the education sector Context Education for All (EFA) Goals & Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF): -Strengthen CS in design & implementation of national & local education plans -Enabling local communities to monitor spending on education at national & local level -Supporting innovative initiatives to access quality education Citizen perception of high levels of corruption across the public service- TI Corruption Perception Index in 2008 got a score of 2.6 in 2010 2.5
Civil society Budget Advocacy Group (CS-BAG) with both national and local level actors that use budget work as a key approach to monitoring Government commitment to various policies across sectors Universal primary education (UPE) recruit & training of new teachers, revised curriculum, additional textbooks & built additional classrooms Decentralisation process saw devolution of funds to local level to delivery services known as Constituency Development Funds
Key activities Child led budget monitoring CSOs monitor schools facilities grant & capitation grant for supporting learning & administrative processes School Management Committees to plan & budget for this grant but not the case in practice Districts Apac & Oyam previously armed conflicts; low levels of school enrolment as children were child soldiers or servants to adult soldiers
CSOs start off with awareness campaigns on children s participation in the project Used child friendly & participatory approaches to train children & to get their views in designing a stand questionnaire. Monitoring on weekly basis on 3 criteria 1) budget expenditure 2) performance of teachers 3) school learning environment Children in each school selected one teacher they trusted. Weekly reports submitted to Head Teachers and School Management Committees & the CSO. Results from all schools were presented at a district workshop with all district education officials. Budget transfers to schools published in local newspapers and placed on public notice boards
Community anti-corruption monitoring at school and district levels CSOs created awareness of corruption in their respective districts Collected information through their Independent Budget Monitors (IBM)- adult volunteers Verified actual expenditures on a quarterly basis based on school budget Annual anti-corruption week at district and national level. CSO driven but engagement with district and national officials through community based public meetings 9
Key results Children s cases of corruption by head teachers reported to district officials Children s recommendations published in annual education sector review & annually present their findings at national education conference Districts have reported increased school enrolment, expansion of the programme, increased representation of children on schools finance sub-committees IBMs reported cases of corruption to policy and recovered some funds from school officials, district officials and contractors CSO lobbied Apac District Council for independent forensic audit of the finance department Other districts were able to get contractors blacklisted and legal action taken against them. CSOs found a fictious school within Bundibugyo Town Council that drawed school funds. Responsible public officers dismissed.
Factors of success At time political climate was conducive as corruption in the public service was not tolerated CSOs involving beneficiaries and communities was an opportunity for citizens voices to be heard, capacities to be enhanced and become active citizens Strong link between national policy processes and local service delivery. Using evidence for advocacy campaign Access to information was a common challenge for all CSOs but this was overcome through informal means
Full report can be accessed: http://www.internationalbudget.org/files/making _the_budget_work_for_education.pdf Contact: mclaasen@idasa.org.za