Budget-making process should be shared with stakeholders: CPDI report

OKARA: Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) has launched its annual report on state of budget transparency in Pakistan. The report points out shortcomings in the budget-making process at the federal and provincial levels and said the budgets in Pakistan should be prepared in consultation with the stakeholders and information should be shared with citizens proactively during all stages of budget-making and budget implementation process.

This was said by Asifa Khan, director programmes FACE during a press conference Saturday in Okara. The event was organised by Foundation for Awareness & Civic Engagement (FACE) under the banner of Citizens’ Network for Budget Accountability (CNBA). The CNBA is a network of more than 60 civil society organisations working on the budget transparency in 110 districts of the country.

CPDI had been gauging the transparency of district budgets all over the country but this year the focus was on federal and provincial levels. This report not only reviewed budget transparency in Pakistan but also tested the effectiveness of access to information laws in obtaining budget-related information.

Around 150 requests for information were sent to the selected federal ministries and provincial departments to test transparency in the budget-making process. Out of 36 applications sent to federal ministries, only six replies were received, and against 114 applications to various provincial departments, only two replies from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and four from Punjab were received while no action was taken by Balochistan and Sindh on requests for information.

The second section of the report examined the comprehensiveness of budget documents and citizens participation in the budget-making process. Here the federal government ranked first with 71 points out of maximum 181 points, Punjab is runner-up, Balochistan is the second runner-up while Sindh and KP occupy the last two positions.

CPDI proposed the issue of providing information by the government should be taken seriously and budget proposals should be widely discussed within citizen groups, government agencies and other important stakeholders. Citizens’ participation in the budget-making process should be legally protected and government agencies should consult with citizens during the various stages of budget-making process. The budget should be presented to the assemblies at least three months before the start of the financial year. A transparent and open policy in consultation with the stakeholders should be formulated based on providing maximum information to the citizens. The press conference is among the series of events that CNBA partner organisations are arranging throughout the country to raise awareness about budget transparency.