Open Budget Index 2006 - Philippine Center for Investigative ...

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IV. HOW DOES THE PUBLIC OBTAIN ACCESS TO INFORMATION? Recent trends in information technology and the increasing popularity of “right to information” laws have had an important impact on how the public may obtain access to budget information. The Internet is now used by a large number of countries in the survey to make documents available to the public. But some civil society organizations warn that it is necessary to be mindful of the limits of the Internet for dissemination of budget information in some countries. Obtaining Access to Budget Documents Through the Internet Many countries in the survey have adopted the desirable practice of making use of the Internet to make budget documents available to the public. But governments could be doing much more to disseminate budget information, especially to those who lack access to the Internet. The Internet offers advantages in providing a cost-effective method for a government to provide simultaneous disclosure of budget documents to all interested parties. This has the potential to guard against insider dealing, arbitrary denial of access to documents, or favoritism in providing information. It also promises to make budget information more widely available to citizens outside of major cities. The adjoining table shows that the overwhelming number of countries, 47 of the 59 surveyed, make their enacted budgets available on the Internet. At the same time, civil society organizations in many low-income countries stress that a large percentage of the population in their country does not have access to the Internet. They urge governments to take other measures to inform the public about the budget, such as making available a citizens’ budget that the population can understand. The table shows that a surprisingly small number of countries surveyed provide such a document — only ten of the 59 countries studied. These include Angola, El Salvador, India, France, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. 18
Table 9 Internet Availability of Documents Out of 59 Countries Completing the Questionnaire Not Produced Not Disclosed to the Public, Produced for Internal Use Public Document, Print Copy Only, Not Available On the Internet Public Document, Available On the Internet Pre-Budget Statement 13 23 6 17 Budget Summary 8 6 7 38 Executive's Budget Proposal 0 6 10 43 Supporting Budget Documents 1 10 9 39 Citizen's Budget 49 0 1 9 Enacted Budget 0 0 12 47 In-Year Reports 3 9 5 42 Mid-Year Report 22 11 7 19 Year-End Report 5 4 10 40 Auditor’s Report 4 13 10 32 “Right to Information” Laws and Access to Highly Detailed Information The increased interest around the world in promoting improved delivery of services is spurring an interest in ensuring that citizens have access to highly detailed information, especially on spending programs. However, such highly detailed information is generally not included in a country’s budget documents. The adoption of right to information laws is therefore an essential first step in many countries to strengthen the ability of citizens to obtain such information in practice. The availability of highly detailed information is important to ensuring that citizens know what is spent in their local school district or health clinic. But as the adjoining table shows, in about half of the countries surveyed, it is not possible in practice to obtain this detailed budget information. Meanwhile, in more than half of the surveyed countries, it is not possible in practice to obtain key non-financial information. Such non-financial information can include the number of a program’s beneficiaries or the number of staff involved in administering it. A country’s laws governing the budget process, or laws establishing a country’s institutions such as the supreme audit institution, will frequently contain provisions requiring that some budget information be made public. Including such provisions in law, especially if these requirements are 19
Page 2 and 3: TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY..........
Page 4 and 5: advocating for stronger public sect
Page 6 and 7: that explains the budget in terms a
Page 8 and 9: of government to hold the executive
Page 10 and 11: Budget Questionnaire are from acade
Page 12 and 13: Calculating the Open Budget Index T
Page 14 and 15: Table 1 Open Budget Index 2006 Whic
Page 16 and 17: III. A CLOSER LOOK AT KEY BUDGET DO
Page 18 and 19: Table 3 Executive’s Budget Propos
Page 20 and 21: Table 5 In-Year Reports on Executio
Page 22 and 23: Table 7 & 8 Year-End Report Quantit
Page 26 and 27: consistent with best practice stand
Page 28 and 29: Table 10 & 11 How Long Does the Exe
Page 30 and 31: Table 13 & 14 Does the Executive Ap
Page 32 and 33: When are Audited Accounts Available
Page 34 and 35: VII. FUTURE STEPS The Open Budge In
Page 37 and 38: Open Budget Index 2006 Country Perc
Page 39 and 40: Mid-Year Review Quantity of Publicl

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