Myanmar
Transparency (Open Budget Index) 2/100
The Government of Myanmar provides the public with scant budget information.
Public Participation 6/100
The Government of Myanmar is weak in providing the public with opportunities to engage in the budget process.
Budget Oversight
By legislature 27/100
Budget oversight by the legislature in Myanmar is weak.
By auditor 25/100
Budget oversight by the supreme audit institution in Myanmar is weak.
Recommendations
Improving Transparency
Myanmar should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Publish an Executive’s Budget Proposal.
- Publish a Pre-Budget Statement, In-Year Reports, a Mid-Year Review, a Year-End Report, and an Audit Report.
- Produce and publish a Citizens Budget.
Improving Participation
Myanmar should prioritize the following actions to improve budget participation:
- Establish credible and effective mechanisms (i.e., public hearings, surveys, focus groups) for capturing a range of public perspectives on budget matters.
- Hold legislative hearings on the budgets of specific ministries, departments, and agencies at which testimony from the public is heard.
- Establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist the supreme audit institution to formulate its audit program and to participate in audit investigations.
Improving Oversight
Myanmar should prioritize the following actions to strengthen budget oversight:
- Promote the development of a well-integrated budget accountability ecosystem that includes a well-capacitated legislature and a supreme audit institution that can provide sustained and systematic oversight to ensure budgets are spent as intended and meet national priorities.
- Establish a specialized budget research office for the legislature.
- Ensure the executive receives prior approval by the legislature before implementing a supplemental budget.
- Require legislative or judicial approval to remove the head of the supreme audit institution.
Myanmar
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Transparency
7
out of 100
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Public Participation
0
out of 100
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Budget Oversight
48
out of 100
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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]IBP considers countries that score above 60 on the Open Budget Index as providing sufficient budget information to enable the public to engage in budget discussions in an informed manner. IBP considers countries scoring above 60 on participation and oversight as providing adequate opportunities for the public to participate in the budget process and providing adequate oversight practices, respectively.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”white” border_width=”10″][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_section][vc_section el_id=”transparency”][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Transparency (Open Budget Index)
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7
out of 100
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Myanmar provides the public with scant budget information.
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Recommendations for Improving Transparency
Myanmar should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Continue to publish an Executive’s Budget Proposal in a timely manner. During the research period for the OBS 2017, an Executive’s Budget Proposal was not made publicly available in a timely manner. This practice has since been adopted.
- Continue to publish In-Year Reports and a Citizens Budget in a timely manner. During the research period for the OBS 2017, In-Year Reports and a Citizens Budget were not made publicly available in a timely manner. This practice has since been adopted.
- Publish a Pre-Budget Statement, an Audit Report, and a Mid-Year Review online.
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Public Participation
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0
out of 100
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Myanmar provides the public with no opportunities to engage in the budget process.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column width=”1/2″ el_class=”country-summary”][vc_progress_bar values=”%5B%7B%22label%22%3A%22Global%20Average%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2212%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Philippines%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2241%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Indonesia%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2222%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Malaysia%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2222%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Timor-Leste%22%2C%22value%22%3A%229%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Thailand%22%2C%22value%22%3A%227%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Vietnam%22%2C%22value%22%3A%227%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Cambodia%22%2C%22value%22%3A%224%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Myanmar%22%2C%22value%22%3A%220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%5D” bgcolor=”custom” title=”How Does Public Participation Compare to Other Countries in the Region?” units=”/100″ el_class=”country-summary” custombgcolor=”#ffffff” customtxtcolor=”#333333″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Recommendations for Improving Participation
Myanmar should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in its budget process:
- Pilot mechanisms for members of the public and executive branch officials to exchange views on national budget matters during both the formulation of the national budget and the monitoring of its implementation. These mechanisms could build on innovations, such as participatory budgeting and social audits. For examples of such mechanisms, see fiscaltransparency.net/mechanisms.
- Hold legislative hearings on the formulation of the annual budget, during which members of the public or civil society organizations can testify.
- Establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist the supreme audit institution in formulating its audit program and to participate in relevant audit investigations.
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Budget Oversight (by Legislature & Audit)
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48
out of 100
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]The legislature and supreme audit institution in Myanmar provide limited oversight of the budget.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_progress_bar values=”%5B%7B%22label%22%3A%22Formulation%2FApproval%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2267%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Execution%2FAudit%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2240%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%5D” bgcolor=”custom” title=”To What Extent Does the Legislature Provide Budget Oversight?” units=”/100″ el_class=”country-summary” custombgcolor=”#ffffff” customtxtcolor=”#333333″][vc_column_text]The legislature provides limited oversight during the budget cycle. This score reflects that the legislature provides adequate oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and weak oversight during the implementation stage of the budget cycle.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”top”][vc_column][vc_progress_bar values=”%5B%7B%22label%22%3A%22Weak%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2233%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23d2d2d2%22%7D%5D” bgcolor=”custom” title=”To What Extent Does the Supreme Audit Institution Provide Budget Oversight?” units=”/100″ el_class=”country-summary” custombgcolor=”#ffffff” customtxtcolor=”#333333″][vc_column_text]
The supreme audit institution provides weak budget oversight.
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Recommendations for Improving Oversight
Myanmar should prioritize the following actions to make budget oversight more effective:
- Establish parliamentary select committees that can examine the annual budget proposal.
- Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.
- Consider setting up an independent fiscal institution to further strengthen budget oversight.
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Learn More
The information on this page presents a partial country summary. For more detailed information, please download:
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Southeast Asia and the Pacific: Open Budget Survey 2021
The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is an assessment of fiscal transparency, public participation and formal oversight in the budget process across a range of countries, conducted every two years.
This brief focuses on the OBS performance of a number of countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, including: Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. These countries have made strides towards budget transparency, but it is still within limits. There is room for progress in expanding public participation in budget processes. Download the report.