Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Transparency (Open Budget Index) 35/100
The Government of Zimbabwe provides the public with minimal budget information.
Public Participation 15/100
The Government of Zimbabwe is weak in providing the public with opportunities to engage in the budget process.
Budget Oversight
By legislature 21/100
Budget oversight by the legislature in Zimbabwe is weak.
By auditor 33/100
Budget oversight by the supreme audit institution in Zimbabwe is weak.
Recommendations
Improving Transparency
Zimbabwe should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Publish the Enacted Budget and Audit Report.
- Produce and publish a Citizens Budget and a Year-End Report.
- Increase the comprehensiveness of the Executive’s Budget Proposal.
Improving Participation
Zimbabwe 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, as well as on audit reports 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 participate in audit investigations.
Improving Oversight
Zimbabwe should prioritize the following actions to strengthen budget oversight:
- Ensure the Executive’s Budget Proposal is provided to legislators at least three months before the start of the budget year.
- Ensure the executive receives prior approval from the legislature before implementing a supplemental budget.
- Grant the supreme audit institution full powers to undertake audits as it sees fit.
Zimbabwe
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Transparency
23
out of 100
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Public Participation
9
out of 100
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Budget Oversight
44
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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23
out of 100
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Zimbabwe provides the public with minimal budget information.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][rrj_bar_chart title=”How Has the Open Budget Index Score Changed Over Time?” labels=”2012;2015; 2017″ datasets=”%5B%7B%22title%22%3A%22Score%20(out%20of%20100)%22%2C%22tooltips_format%22%3A%22%7By%7D%22%2C%22values%22%3A%2220%3B%5Ct35%3B%5Ct23%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22%23a1a14e%22%2C%22bar_bg%22%3A%22plain%22%7D%5D” cat_per=”50″ legend=”” tooltip_mode=”nearest” title_align=”left” title_tag=”h5″ axes_color=”#333333″ axis_zero=”yes” jsoptions=”e3NjYWxlczogewogICAgICAgIHlBeGVzOiBbewogICAgICAgICAgICB0aWNrczogewogICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgbWF4OiAxMDAsIAogICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgbWluOiAwLAogICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgc3RlcFNpemU6IDEwLAogICAgICAgICAgICB9CiAgICAgICAgfV0KICAgIH0KfQo=” css=”.vc_custom_1520297434508{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Recommendations for Improving Transparency
Zimbabwe should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Continue publishing online and in a timely manner an Enacted Budget and In-Year Reports. Following the research period of the OBS 2017, both the Enacted Budget and In-Year Reports have been made publicly available.
- Produce and publish online in a timely manner a Year-End Report and a Citizens Budget.
- Ensure that the Executive’s Budget Proposal that is posted online matches the printed version.
- Increase the information on expenditure and revenue provided in the Executive’s Budget Proposal by including expenditure by functional classification and individual sources of tax and non-tax revenue.
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Public Participation
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9
out of 100
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Zimbabwe provides few opportunities for the public 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%22South%20Africa%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2224%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Zambia%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2215%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Botswana%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2215%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Malawi%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2215%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Zimbabwe%22%2C%22value%22%3A%229%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%23ff7a22%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Angola%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%22Mozambique%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%22Lesotho%22%2C%22value%22%3A%220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Namibia%22%2C%22value%22%3A%220%22%2C%22color%22%3A%22custom%22%2C%22customcolor%22%3A%22%230087d1%22%7D%2C%7B%22label%22%3A%22Swaziland%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
Zimbabwe should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in its budget process:
- Pilot mechanisms led by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development 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 Audit Report, during which members of the public or civil society organizations can testify.
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Budget Oversight (by Legislature & Audit)
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44
out of 100
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]The legislature and supreme audit institution in Zimbabwe 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%2233%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%2253%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 weak oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and limited 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%22Limited%22%2C%22value%22%3A%2250%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 limited budget oversight.
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Recommendations for Improving Oversight
Zimbabwe should prioritize the following actions to make budget oversight more effective:
- Ensure legislative committees publish reports on their analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal online.
- Ensure a legislative committee publishes reports on in-year budget implementation online.
- Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.
- Publish the reports of the independent fiscal institution on macroeconomic and fiscal forecasts and on cost estimates of new policy proposals online.
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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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How Governments Report On and Justify Budget Deviations: Examples from 23 Countries
April 2019 | International Budget Partnership
The study of budget credibility examines the extent, nature, causes, and consequences of deviations from approved budgets. Given the degree to which budget deviations can impact major social priorities in health, education, and beyond, it is essential that governments communicate about them. As part of the International Budget Partnership’s Assessing Budget Credibility Project, 24 civil society partners in 23 countries identified a budget credibility challenge in their country and scrutinized a case where the government consistently failed to raise or spend funds as it said it would at the start of the fiscal year. Partners looked for explanations for deviations in published documents and then sought interviews with public officials to further understand the deviations.
These budget credibility country snapshot reports summarize our partners’ research. The broader synthesis report on these findings can be found here.
Downloads
- Afghanistan – The Development Budget – based on research by Integrity Watch Afghanistan »
- Argentina – Early Childhood Development – based on research by Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia (ACIJ) »
- Australia – Company Tax Receipts – based on research by the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute »
- Bangladesh – Women’s Programs – based on research by Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) »
- Benin – Health – based on research by Social Watch Benin »
- Brazil – Gender Equity – based on research by Institute for Socioeconomic Studies (Inesc) »
- Dominican Republic – Maternal and Child Health – based on research by Fundación Solidaridad »
- Ecuador – Scholarships – based on research by Fundación para el Avance de las Reformas y las Oportunidades (Grupo FARO) »
- Guatemala – Road Infrastructure – based on research by Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales (ICEFI) »
- Hungary – Public Research – based on research by Fiscal Responsibility Institute Budapest (FRIB) »
- India – Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students – based on research by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) »
- India – Healthcare in Maharashtra State – based on research by Support for Advocacy and Training to Health Initiatives (SATHI) »
- Indonesia – Maternal and Child Nutrition – based on research by Perkumpulan Inisiatif »
- Kenya – Maternal and Child Health – based on research by Institute of Public Finance Kenya (IPFK) »
- Mexico – Spending on Social Development and Agriculture – based on research by Fundar »
- Nigeria – Education – based on research by BudgIT »
- Paraguay – Child Nutrition – based on research by Centro de Análisis y Difusión de la Economía Paraguaya (CADEP) »
- Portugal – Capital – based on research by Thomas Jefferson-Correia da Serra Institute of Public Policy – Lisbon (IPP) »
- Romania – Public Investment – based on research by Funky Citizens »
- Serbia – Contingency Fund – based on research by Transparency Serbia »
- Sierra Leone – Malaria – based on research by Budget Advocacy Network (BAN) »
- Sri Lanka – The Agriculture Sector – based on research by Verité Research »
- Ukraine – Road Infrastructure – based on research by Centre Eidos »
- Zimbabwe – Basic Education – based on research by National Association of Non–Governmental Organisations (NANGO) »
Related
- The International Budget Partnership’s Assessing Budget Credibility Project
- Explain That to Us: How Governments Report On and Justify Budget Deviations (March 2019)
- The Contours of Budget Credibility in Nigeria (March 2019)
- Assessing the Quality of Reasons in Government Budget Documents (October 2018)