The benefits of open and accountable government are a longstanding focus of advocates of fiscal transparency. Fiscal accountability enables governments to ensure that public resources reach their targeted beneficiaries and achieve their intended policy outcomes. Government commitment to fiscal openness and accountability acquired renewed significance with the onset of COVID-19 and the introduction of related emergency fiscal policy packages.
In May 2021, the International Budget Partnership (IBP) published a rapidly executed assessment of transparency and accountability arrangements in the fiscal policy responses implemented in 120 countries in response to the pandemic. IBP’s report was important given preexisting concerns with growing inequality, weakening democracy, and the universal demand for efficient and equitable handling of public resources when the crisis hit.
With more than two-thirds of the governments assessed providing limited levels of accountability in the implementation of early COVID-19 fiscal responses, the overall findings of IBP’s report, “Managing COVID Funds: The Accountability Gap,” were bleak. However, the assessment also unearthed examples of good practices that can – and should – be showcased to enable governments to learn how to better manage public resources in times of emergency. The message from the report was clear: When a crisis hits, no one government agency has all the answers. It takes all hands on deck to formulate an effective response and a resilient, inclusive recovery. The good practices in the report highlight the benefits that engagement from the accountability ecosystem can bring.
This paper draws on the findings of 15 case studies of COVID-19-related fiscal policy responses from around the world that were documented by IBP after it published its report in May 2021: Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, Chile, Ecuador, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nepal, Paraguay, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo and the United Kingdom. These cases were chosen based on the findings from the rapid assessment, and they showcase various types of good-practice responses that illustrate how governments can achieve speedy policy responses without undermining accountability. The paper offers lessons to governments, oversight bodies (legislatures and supreme audit institutions) and other external stakeholders in fiscal accountability (including development agencies and civil society organizations) on emergent good practices in ensuring fiscal transparency, citizen engagement and effective oversight during crises. IBP recognizes that different contextual and institutional factors will determine how and why governments adopt lessons from good practices. For this reason, the paper focuses on identifying crosslearning themes that governments can emulate, while at the same time recognizing the constraints on replicating and adapting some of the lessons. Download PDF
The participation of citizens in the decisions that are taken by the government when formulating and executing their budgets is no longer in contention as a way of governance in Kenya. The debate has now moved to the quality and level of inclusion in the engagement between citizens and their national and county governments. The budget remains the most important policy tool to deal with inequalities and poverty. Therefore, having citizens, especially the poor and marginalized communities, at the centre of the budget decisions is a progressive step to ensure the outputs of such processes are more responsive to their needs. However, for participation to be meaningful and effective, citizens should have access to timely, comprehensive, relevant, and accurate information on budget decisions. In Kenya, this means that national and county governments must proactively share budget information on all key decisions throughout the budget cycle and within the legal timelines.
The Kenya County Budget Transparency Survey 2021 has shown an improvement in overall county transparency by two points compared to the previous survey moving from 33 to 35 points. However, this score shows that citizens still have limited access to information on their county budgets, hampering their participation in the development and monitoring of service delivery through public budgets.
Key finding 1: Counties are becoming more transparent, but the pace is too slow
Key finding 2: Counties are not consistent in making budget information publicly available
Key finding 3: Budget documents provide incomplete coverage of required budget information
Key finding 4: Counties are becoming more responsive in a quest to improve their level of budget transparency
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 South Asia, which is the only region in the world that has seen a steady and substantial downward trajectory in budget transparency since 2017. The region shows clear signs of stresses on democratic norms as checks and balances are undermined and civic space shrinks. Download the report.
The Open Budget Survey is the world’s only comparative, independent, and regular assessment of transparency, oversight and participation in national budgets in 120 countries.
As is the case in every round, the 2021 survey represents the collective work of our global network of researchers in each country. This round, however, we did something different. We leaned into partnership and worked hand-in-hand with a select group of partners to co-author our global report and eight regional reports. This new approach has allowed us to benefit from the rich insights of our global partners and present key recommendations to spur action at the global, regional and country level.
The 2021 survey comes at a time when accountable and inclusive public budgets are more urgent than ever. The pandemic has led to the first rise in global extreme poverty in a generation, inequality is soaring and democracy is backsliding. The wealthy have become wealthier, while the excluded, especially women and marginalized communities are bearing the brunt of the fallout. Governments need to open up to public dialogue around how best to manage scarce public resources if we are to meet these challenges. Inclusion can yield democratic and development dividends in this time of great need and great disruption. If there is one common theme in this latest Open Budget Survey, it is that reform is possible anywhere.
Over the last 13 years, we have documented steady gains in global transparency. The average transparency score in the survey has increased more by than 20 percent since 2008. Download the report.
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.
The Open Budgets Blog features content related to transparency, participation, and accountability in government budgeting; civil society budget analysis and advocacy; and public finance management.
Posts are the responsibility of their authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the International Budget Partnership, our donors, or partners.
The benefits of open and accountable government are a longstanding focus of advocates of fiscal transparency. Fiscal accountability enables governments to ensure that public resources reach their targeted beneficiaries and achieve their intended policy outcomes. Government commitment to fiscal openness and accountability acquired renewed significance with the onset of COVID-19 and the introduction of related emergency fiscal policy packages.
