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SD’S BUDGETING PROCESS WORST IN THE WORLD

09/02/2018 07:15:00 BY KWANELE DHLADHLA

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MBABANE – Did you know that the methodology used to collate the country’s budget is ranked among the least transparent globally?

With only a few weeks before Minister of Finance Martin Dlamini delivers his budget speech, the International Budget Organisation has revealed that Swaziland scored only three out of 100 based on the average responses to the 109 indicators the Open Budget Survey uses to measure budget transparency.

The Open Budget Index is the world’s only independent and comparative measure of budget transparency. The Open Budget Index scores each country from 0 to 100, based on the average responses to the 109 indicators the Open Budget Survey uses to measure budget transparency. These indicators are used to assess whether the central government makes eight key budget documents available to the public in a timely manner and whether the information contained in these documents is comprehensive and useful.

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Bheki Bhembe said he was not aware of the deficiencies being referred to in the report because he had not yet seen it. He explained that the country’s budget was informed by ministry proposals after Cabinet approved ceilings for each and every ministry.

Bhembe said thereafter, the budget was presented to Parliament for legislators’ input and approval.
The PS said most recently, cabinet ministers also had the opportunity to participate in budget meetings. Previously, the budget consultative meetings were done at a technical level and presented by principal secretaries to the central agencies.

“The ministers felt they also needed to understand more on what happens on the resource allocation programme. They (ministers) wanted to own the budget, so that when it has been passed the minister understands why certain allocations were made especially when it gets presented to Parliament,” Bhembe explained.