Initiatives: Information Exchange

Citizens' involvement in budget process, Kenya

The Christian Partners Development Agency (CPDA), a LogoLink Partner in Kenya, is concerned about the manner in which the budget process is being handled - proceeding without adequate involvement of the citizens. A statement from CPDA says that though interested members of the public are at liberty to attend "budget hearing sessions" and to express their views on how they want to see their taxes spent, most of their contributions can hardly be described as informed.

The statement explains that "the budget hearings are yet to evolve into a fora that can promote robust discussions and debate, where government priorities can be subjected to thorough scrutiny and where civil servants can be made accountable on their spending decisions".

CPDA is also uncomfortable that the budget has been left to the civil servants especially in regard to issues of re-allocations. "Why do we allow civil servants to alter the spending plans and allocations after the budget?" states CPDA.

In regard to transparency CPDA states that "this is in deficit in the so-called exchequer releases." And those ministries have to wait for exchequer releases by the treasury, which is also dogged by bureaucratic red tapes.

The statement concludes that the Kenyan budget is still very opaque to allow the public to follow and monitor the execution of the budget after the budget day. It proposes that the government should publish all the exchequer releases every quarter and also stop dragging its foot over the enactment of the pending procurement bill.

For more information, contact cpda@skyweb.co.ke