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

Presented By

Hon. Kabondo TindamanyireChairman, 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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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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……

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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

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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 for key Government activities through the media.

- 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.

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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'.

END