Budget survey shows a decline in transparency

Jul 11, 2020

The findings in the African continent and East Africa at large put South Africa at 87% emerging the best in Africa while Uganda was ranked the 2nd in Africa and best in East Africa having scored 58% with the public participation pillar at 22%.

BUSINESS

Civil society members have challenged legislators to consider coming up with the citizen‘s participation bill in the country. The bill is looked at as a tool which will strengthen the capacity of the citizens to oversee budget executions.

The call follows the release of Uganda's open budget survey results which indicated a decline in the country's budget transparency from 60% in 2017 to 58% in 2019.

Speaking during a news conference held at their head offices in Ntinda on yesterday the director of programs at the Uganda debt network, Julius Kapwepwe Mishambi explained that late last year between the month of September and December together with the international Budget Partnership organization based in the United states of America they conducted  an open budget survey exercise on the level of national budget accessibility to the Ugandan citizens .

( L to R) Priscilla Naisanga the communications officer at the Uganda debt network and Siraji Magara the programs director at CSBAG

The findings in the African continent and East Africa at large put South Africa at 87% emerging the best in Africa while Uganda was ranked the 2nd in Africa and best in East Africa having scored 58% with the public participation pillar at 22%.

Mishambi insisted that Uganda's 58% score is not good news arguing that while there spaces for citizens to participate in the budget process, the results of the consultations are not reflected in the final budget priorities.

The programs coordinator for the budget advocacy group ‘CSBAG ‘ Siraji Magara is optimistic that once parliament adopts the idea of the citizens participation frame work , automatically the country will start to witness openness, accountability and public participation as guiding principles for public financial management.

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