Budget Transparency and Participation

In the concluding decade of the 20th century Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia all underwent democratic or constitutional renewal, raising expectations of increased transparency, accountability and participation in public budgeting, stepping stones towards reduced corruption and improved spending outcomes. This book assesses the progress made against a systematic framework of internationally accepted standards. Each of the country chapters looks at transparency through the eyes of the ordinary citizen and the legislatures and asks what information they would need to assess the link between policy priorities, spending and services. Therefore while the study poses the standard codified questions on the availability, accuracy, timeliness and usefulness of information, it asks them with one yardstick in mind: is the information adequate to enable meaningful participation of citizens. In addition it asks a series of questions about participation itself. The assessments were done by in-country non-governmental organisations over a two-year period and as such offer a rich understanding of the technical and political obstacles to open management of the public purse. These and other cross-country implications of the study are captured in a synthesis chapter.