Working with Governments: The Tools and Role of Budget Observatories…in Kenya

Working with Governments: The Tools and Role of Budget Observatories…in Kenya

Isa Achoba, Chief, Strategic Planning Monitoring and Evaluation, UNICEF Kenya

[email protected]

and

Godfrey Ndenge, Social Policy Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Kenya

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Content of Presentation

Background to Social Budgeting in Kenya.

History

Context

Progress to date.

Tools for enhancing Social Budgeting

Social Intelligence Reporting

Observatories in Social Budgeting.

Lessons to share and recommendations

For many years in Kenya - budgeting was more preoccupied with Macroeconomic issues:

Generating higher growth (GDP), controlling inflation, exchange/foreign reserves, debt etc

Limited emphasis was given to human development (poverty, health and education)

The need for a balance became imperative: to ensure that both macroeconomic targets and human development targets are coherently achieved

The background to Social Budgeting/1

The background to Social Budgeting/2

Initial ideas- Trickle down theory failed1.The Government of Kenya-UNICEF programme in 2005, conceptualized the social budgeting initiative;

2.It is being spearheaded by the Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030;In collaboration with:

1. Ministry of Finance;2. SIDA (during the pilot phase)

3.The programme set up social budgeting observatories at the national level and initially in 3 districts (Isiolo, Kwale and Turkana); These observatories;

1. Produced budgeting reports and;2. Carried out an assessment of institutional and policy

challenges facing programmes.

Dual Budgeting Framework

Mandated expenditures

Infrastructure Security HD/HR provisions

Macroeconomic framework

Growth rate, inflation, fiscal deficit, public debt, taxation

Resource envelope

Growth rate, inflation, fiscal deficit, public debt, taxation

Resource envelope

Quantitative targets to reduce child deprivation,

namely in health, nutrition, housing, information, water,

education, sanitation and protection.

Human Development

& rights framework

Harmonization

Process and

Negotiations

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participatory approach to budget preparation and

monitoring

social sectors focusing on children and women

Women and marginalized populations

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Budgetary decisions, allocations and utilization

The Concept of Social Budgeting

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monitoring



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Development activities are inter-twined – Human

rights are holistic

Priorities amidst competing needs – best identified by the people

Policy and institutional hurdles - most visible

nearer the ground

Broader Participation ensures ‘equity', 'efficiency’ and

‘accountability’ in social outcomes

Ownership and sustainability of

development


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monitoring



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Evidence for Policy

Adjustment

Human Rights

Resources means

more than funds

Transparent

Decision► Children► Women► Media► Civil Society

Addresses policy

Barriers

Top Down vs Bottom up

Balance

Development activities are inter-twined – Human

rights are holistic

Priorities amidst competing needs – best identified by the people

Policy and institutional hurdles - most visible

nearer the ground

Broader Participation ensures ‘equity', 'efficiency’ and

‘accountability’ in social outcomes

Ownership and sustainability of

development


Traditional Budgeting – Institutional Structures

Ministry of Finance: Fiscal

and monetary division

Sector Ministries And Parastatals

District/County sector agencies

Budget office

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Traditional structures

Ministry of Planning National Development

and Vision 2030:

Social Budgeting – Institutional Structures

Social Policy advisor

National Budgeting

observatories

Ministry of Finance: Fiscal

and monetary division

District/County Budgeting

observatories

Sector Ministries And Parastatals

District/County sector agencies

Budget office

Sector Budget Observatories C

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Traditional structures Social Budgeting Structures

Ministry of Planning National Development

and Vision 2030:

Social Budgeting Gains…. Social Policy Advisor embedded in the Treasury

Evidence-led influence on Budget for Children;

Convening hub for dialogue with sectors;

Coordination of social policy brief into budgetary decisions;

Monitoring of budget flows and utilization

Social Budgeting Guidelines

Social Intelligence Reporting;

Observatories in Social Budgeting.

Progress and Opportunities

Ministry/SectorPro-Child and/or Women friendly instrument

Government Financial Year (Millions of Kenya Shillings )2008/9 2009/10 2010/11

Education Free Primary Education 6678 7546 9504Education Early Childhood Development 198 248 446Public health and Sanitation Nutrition 147 163 276

Public health and Sanitation

Output Based Approach (OBA) - Voucher Scheme for Free maternal and child delivery services 0 10 9

Gender, Children and Social Development

Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC-CT) 579 770 817

State for Planning National Development and Vision 2030 Population Family Planning 110 120 234State for Planning National Development and Vision 2030

Constituency Development Fund (CDF) 10100 12300 14300

Source: Kenya Ministry of Finance, NairobiCDF is backed by law and applied in each of 210 constituencies to health, education, water sanitation and hygiene and othersOn the average, 1 US$ is equivalent to 75 Kshs (2009), 80 Kshs (2010)

Are Budgets working for children and women?

Increasing Social SectorIncreasing Social SectorDevelopment Budgets Development Budgets

Social Policy Briefs Social Policy Briefs & Advocacy& Advocacy

Are Budgets working for ChildrenAre Budgets working for ChildrenAnd Women at facilities And Women at facilities

And service outlets?And service outlets?

No ‘real time ‘assurances’ of participation and ‘efficiency’

Social Inteliegence Reporting (SIR) in the context of human rights and development

An accountability tool prescribed in the Government of Kenya Social Budgeting (SB) Guidelines to:

• Engage ‘Claim Holders’ in budget and social policy;

• Gauge the performance of key social policies for the realization of the rights of children and women in an environment of ‘equity’ , ‘participation’, ‘transparency’ and public ‘accountability’.

As originally coined by E.L. Thorndike (1920), the term Social Intelligence referred the person's ability to understand and manage other people, and to engage in adaptive social interactions

According to Cantor and Kihlstrom (1987), social intelligence is specifically geared to solving the problems of social life

Social Inteliegence Reporting (SIR) in the context of human rights and development

Social Intelligence Report summarizes and analyses data, information and evidence collected from;

1. Social networks,

2. Service points;

3. Community interactions, and;

Using the knowledge to inform management/actors and for more efficient and effective strategies and policies ….in the social sector

Why Social Intelligence Reporting (SIR)?

The Social Budgeting Guidelines prescribe SIRs as basis for convening Social Budgeting Observatories at – local, sector and national levels

Citizen participation in realizing better social, political and economic outcomes, as contained in Kenya’s Vision 2030 and the first Medium

Term Plan

Social budgeting intelligence reports are vital in tracking how budgets are working for children

and women at facility/community and devolved levels as well as stimulate actions and

accountability by ‘duty bearers’

Eye on the Budget…UNICEF Kenya invests less than 100mUS$ per annum

vs

Government Budget of 11 billion US$

Keeping ‘Eyes, Ears and Nose’ on the budget is key to realization of the rights of the most

deprived

Engagement and Awareness of Budget benefits (or failures)

for/by ‘Claim Holders’

engenders actions and accountability by ‘duty bearers’

Are Budgets working for children and women?

Increasing Social SectorIncreasing Social SectorDevelopment Budgets Development Budgets

Social Policy BriefsSocial Policy Briefs

Are Budgets working for ChildrenAre Budgets working for ChildrenAnd Women at facilities And Women at facilities

And service outlets?And service outlets?

SIRs generated, tabled and utilized by SB Observatories...’

accountability tool’ for social equity

How is SIR Generated and Used?

Periodic (twice a year)Periodic (twice a year)

SIRs generated in SIRs generated in

at least 10 communities per district

at least 10 communities per district

District and/or County SB Observatories

District and/or County SB Observatories

Contribute to and

Contribute to and

Converge to discuss

Converge to discuss

findings from SIRs

findings from SIRs

Obstacles to efficient

and equitable social

services identified

and removed at

facility, community

and higher levels

Better Better Social Social

Services Services PoliciesPolicies

Better Better Development Development

ResultsResults

SIRs in Practice… @ local levels

District or County District or County Development Office Development Office as Secretariat for as Secretariat for SIRSIR

District and/or CountyDistrict and/or CountyDevelopment (Executive) CommitteeDevelopment (Executive) Committee

As Local ObservatoryAs Local ObservatorySocial Intelligence

Reporting…a) Budgetb) Policies

Health and Nutrition services

and funds

Education sector funds and Services

Follow up on SIR key

findings and recommendati

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Hold sector offices and

officials accountable

What ?Who?Why?

Where?When?

Are BudgetsWorking for

Children and Women?

Social Protection Services

and funds

Water, Sanitation

and Hygiene services

and funds

Devolved Funds – at least 10 of such funds exist today

Participation in mutual Accountability

The Kenya Social Intelligence Reporting Tool and template

Education Sector - Facility Level Information

FE1: Facility ID ................................... FE2: Name ............................................. FE3: Urban........ (1) Or Rural........ (2)FE4: Is it Public (1).... or Private (2).... or Other (3)....? Specify ------------------

2008/2009 2009/ 2010 Notes /Remarks

FE5: Amount of Fund received (Ksh) Kenya shillings

Kenya shilling

FE5a: ECDPrimary School Information

FE6a: School Infrastructure ImprovementFE6b: Most Vulnerable Children (MVC)FE6c: Free Primary School

FE6ci: School instructional materialsFE6cii: General Purpose Account

FE6ciii: Others

FE7: Secondary schools information

FE7a: School instructional materialsFE7b: General Purpose AccountFE7c: Others

FE8: Enrolment figure by class and sex

Male Female Male FemaleNotes

/CommentsFE8a: One (1)FE8b: Two (2)FE8c: Three (3)FE8: Enrolment figure by class and sex

Male Female Male Female

FE8d: Four (4)FE8e: Five (5)FE8f: Six (6)FE8g: Seven (7)FE8h: Eight (8)FE8i: KCPE Mean Score


Male Female Male Female CommentsFE9: Facilities in Centres and SchoolsFE9a: Number of toilets by gender

FE9b: Number of water pointsFE10: Number of child pregnancy casesFE11: Notes of Parents Teachers Association (PTA) minutes and usage of funds

FE12: School feeding Programme InformationFE12a: Is there a school feeding programme (Yes/No)FE12b: If Yes, Is it provided freely or charged?

FE12c: If charged, at what cost?Copies to: The Facility Head, District, District Sectoral Heads, Sectoral Planning Directorate, Sectoral Budgeting Observatory, National budgeting Observatory, Social Policy Adviser & UNICEF Kenya


Field Notes from Social Intelligence Reporting trials….

The SIRs field diagnostics have so far shown that …

1. Vast ‘real time evidence can stimulate action…o In a district, 21 children are reported pregnant in a primary school alone this year;

oAnti Malaria drugs are lacking , sometimes for months;

oNo toilet for ECD pupils in primary schools;

oA former Head teacher & past PTA Chairman in a School could not account for Ksh 130, 000 (from CDF +MVC fund);…

CT-OVC is keeping children in schools;…

2. Obstacles on the path of budget removed…

e.g. the use Constituency Development Funds for spring water development;

In a Primary school, 750 pupils were on roll call, but only half was captured in the Education sector database…

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Access to ‘real time’ information

Fast track to social equity

Taking the lead in ‘devolved

governance’

Entrenching the culture of

accountability and productive

engagement

Gauging impact of budgets and policies for

children and women

Sector&

National

Fulfilling obligations ;Learning for policy

feedback

District orCounty

Participation in mutual Accountability

Community Claim Holder

Social Intelligence Reporting and Human Rights

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Role of Social Budgeting ObservatoriesSocial Budget Observatories are useful if ‘facts and

figures’ on the ‘budget at work’ is available;

The Social Intelligence Reports (SIR) ….’eye, ear and nose’ on budget working for children and women;

The social Budgeting observatories meet to;

• Deliberate on the ‘real time’ findings from SIRs;

• Take and/or ensure that remedial actions do address challenges are dealt with;

• Hold duty bearers accountable;

• Foster citizen participation;

• Contribute to policy performance review, and;

• Gather evidence for the next budget cycle.

What ‘s Next …in social budgeting in Kenya1. Revise the Social Budgeting Guidelines – for use at county levels

and with the additional devolution of political, administrative and fiscal powers and accountability in the new constitution;

2. At least 23 districts (1 per county) assessed and trained to apply SIR as tool for Social Budgeting; By March 2011;

• At least 23 SIRs generated/analyzed;

• Utilized for policy advocacy and;

• To address real time challenges.

3. Real time evidence available on the benefit of Government of Kenya investments in social sectors of health, WASH, Education, protection etc

4. By 2011, each of the 47 counties assisted to have at least one Social Budgeting learning centre that applies the SIR routinely as part of their ‘SB’ practice of accountability.

1. Work towards sustained national capacity and integration of Social Budgeting into national policy, planning, budgeting and public accountability framework;

a) Assist Government to develop and disseminate a national Social Budgeting Guideline; it empowers the citizens and CSO to demand engagement with the budgeting process;

b)Support national and local capacity for implementing the budgeting guidelines; especially use of Social Intelligence Reporting;

2. Sector-specific Budgeting Observatories are vital to ownership and accountability for effective and efficient use and reporting (accountability) of the increased resources gained through social budgeting;

Lessons and Recommendations…1

Lessons and Recommendations…23. Gather evidence for increasing treasury allocations to

pro-child and women friendly policies but also assemble facts on how budgets are working for children and women;

a)Consider the adoption and use of Social Intelligence Reporting;

b)Support Government to publish simplified ‘public versions’ of the budget;

c) Facilitate CSO, public dialogue and engagement with (a) and (b);

4. Donors and development partners to increase resources (funding, technical, knowledge sharing via south-south cooperation etc) to social budgeting

THANK YOU

ASANTE SANA!!!

Documents

Working with Governments: The Tools and Role of Budget Observatories…in Kenya