Government For Informed Citizens Tinadamnyire Kabondo

CITIZENS AWARENESS IN PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT WITH THE OPEN BUDGET INITIATIVE – THE UGANDA EXPERIENCE

Presented By Hon. Kabondo Tindamanyire Chairman, Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development

Parliament of the Republic of Uganda International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM) Miami, Florida- USA, May 18-22, 2009 1

The case for Citizens Participation in Public Financial Management Uganda’s experience

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The Legal Framework 

Enabling laws for the participation of citizens includes the following;



The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda of 1995



The Access to information Act, 2005



Public Finance and Accountability Act,2003



The Budget Act,2001

3

The Institutional Framework



This includes the key players:

the Government comprising

Cabinet/the Executive; Parliament; and the Legislative arm of Government that is mainly composed of Representatives of the Electorate (people); and the Judiciary. The media forms a critical link as it informs the public on the entire budget process; and Civil Society Organizations keep pressure on government and ensure that public priorities are kept on the Agenda. These set the policy guidelines and the facilitate the information flow. 4

The Institutional Framework (Cont’d)



The mode of conceptualization by citizens is the reflection of how Government has set its Priorities and how they relate to the aspirations of the people.



The mechanism for exchange between the Government and its citizens is reflected on how the people rate the performance of the Government when it comes to elections and this is an indicator of how Government Programmes have addressed peoples desires and aspirations 5

The Prevailing Scenarios



An enabling environment provided by democratic and good governance practices



The role played by the civil society organizations



Community information initiatives are very vibrant.



Government setting of budget priorities vis-a-vis the public involvement. How much does the public involve itself in the budget preparations



How the Government allows people to discuss budget issues on radio talk shows popularly known as EKIMEZA; and the free media that reports on Government 6

What are Public Finances



Public finances are resources that are at the disposal of governments to spend on public goods and services for the benefit of its citizens.



The instrument by which government spends public finances is the Budget as appropriated by Parliament .

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The Uganda Public Finance Spending Centers



Central Government (Ministries and other government agencies).



Local Governments (decentralized governments).



Sub-counties (administrative divisions).



Support to NGOs under the private/public partnerships.

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Information Dissemination Channels 

Radio



Television broadcast



News papers



Magazines



Bulletins



Political rallies



Public hearings by Parliament and Commissions



Talk shows



House to House exchanges



Local councils (LC I, LC II, LC III, and LC V) 9

Capacity Building of Citizens



Promotion of literacy through Universal Primary and Secondary Education, Adult literacy and community programmes for both adults and the youth



Provision of

adequate reading materials



Open dialogue between government and citizens.



Encouragement of participation by the Local Communities through the local community Initiative organized by the Local Councils 10

Participation of Citizens



In the formulation of the National Budget:



Planning and priority derivation, the citizens are encouraged to participate



Approval by Parliament which is made of Peoples’ Representatives

 

Implementation and execution of the National Budgets. Evaluation and monitoring through the media, LC meetings and general outputs.



Auditing and Accountability 11

Understanding the Budget



The budget is a document which forecasts and authorizes the annual receipts and expenditure of the state resources



In the most general definition, budgeting is concerned with the translation of financial resources into human purposes.



The understanding of the public of the budget execution is the delivery of goods and services as set out in the priorities such as roads, hospitals, schools etc…… 12

Understanding Budget (Cont’d)



A national budget is a primary public finance management instrument reflecting government policy, priorities, planning and implementation processes for the delivery of public goods and services;



Budget deals with income and expenditure, thus combining public expenditure plans, revenue and tax legislation

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Budget Functions



Reflects government stated policies and set national priorities



Evaluate public programmes and review the activities of government departments



A tool for development management and economic growth;

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Budget Transparency



A system of accountability and controls over government officials, ministries and departments, setting expenditure limits

and

safeguard

against

abuse

of

public

funds.

Parliament is fully involved in the budgeting process (by law) 

With the involvement of citizens in all the stages of budget cycle, they will acquaint themselves with

the spending of

public finances and appreciate the expected returns 

The information is then collaborated for accountability and transparency 15

Direct Citizen Involvement is: 

Budgeting Public participation in the budgeting process, starting with priority setting according to the regions of the country. - Communication of the budgeting information to the public through public hearings and getting the Citizens input. -

Communication of Information on releases of funds key Government activities through the media.

for

- Public participation in monitoring of budget implementation through LC’s and Radio Talk Shows - Establishing public information desks at all central and local government offices. 16

Auditing



Auditor General involving the public in the Audit process by;



Making Audit Reports easily accessible to the public.



Educate the public about Audit Reports.



Allow public participation in the PAC discussions of the reports of the Auditor General.



Provision of information to the public of Omissions in the budget and budget execution arising out of PAC Reports

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Information Dissemination 

School Curriculum - Include in the school curriculum subject areas relating to public finance.



Talk Shows -

LC and Village meetings.

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Economic Uncertainty 

The performance of the economy has a direct bearing on its citizens



This is determined by macroeconomic framework which highlights the desired objectives of the government.



Confidence building among the population.



Dialogue among arms of the government.



Setting up and use of electronic communication systems where people can interact.

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How do we keep citizens informed during economic uncertainty and restore their confidence  Keep them regularly informed through the media of the proposed government interventions to address the challenges.  Educate the public about the causes and how they are likely to impact on their lives.  Conduct public hearings as a way of building public confidence so that the input from the public is incorporated in subsequent actions of Government

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How should governments explain to citizens and their communities how they benefit from public spending over the long term?  Government should be able to demonstrate the outputs that citizens should expect from public spending.  What new media may be employed to promote citizen communication? 

E-government.

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Conclusion



Democratic theory demonstrates how important it is for citizens to be adequately ‘informed’ and to be able to fully exercise their rights and responsibilities.



Through a clear understanding of rights and responsibilities people can be empowered.



Governments play an important role in promoting access to public information alongside many other different information 'proxies'.

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