Africa-Press – Eswatini. BUDGET accountability is key in public administration and management of the public purse. It is commendable that the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini has called upon the nation to make contributions on the national budget 2024/25. I urge the nation to take advantage of this call and ensure to contribute in the formulation of the national budget. It is your right as liSwati to participate in budget formulation and also it is your right to participate in budget accountability exercises, ensuring that expenditures are executed as planned. I have a couple of reservations about the whole exercise though, being is not a little too late? Also, what guarantees do we have that our views will be taken into consideration in the finalisation of the budget.
Too little too late
I contend that its too little too late for the exercise, we are now in the finalisation stages of the budgeting cycle. We are at a phase whereby most ministries have already compiled their budgets and have already appeared before Cabinet to discuss their different budgets. At this point, all the priorities have been finalised and the budget is getting ready to go.
One ponders the impact that emaSwati will now be able to have in the formulation of the budget. In my view, the participation of the nation would have been more potent in the early stages of the budgeting cycle, at this point I am afraid it seems as though this is a window dressing exercise or rather an exercise in futility.
Utilisation of inputs
I call on the Finance Ministry to assure the nation that the inputs being sought will be utilised. It is prudent to guarantee to the nation that their inputs will be utilised. True empowerment of the people entails knowing that they contribute in shaping policy direction in the kingdom, more potent is knowing that one’s inputs are taken into consideration. There should be a clear matric detailing how the inputs will be utilised, furthermore, the ministry should give a detailed outline how it will report back to the nation on how the inputs have been utilised. It is imperative to keep the entire exercise transparent and to keep the nation in confidence that their views have been taken into consideration. This exercise in my view should also pave way for budget accountability and would go a long way in arresting the problems of corruption that we are grappling with as a nation.
Accountability andTransparency
This exercise would be a very futile one if it would not pave way for budget transparency throughout the budget execution cycle. I would be more comfortable with the exercise if the government also gives assurances to the nation that this transparency will surge throughout the budgeting cycle.
I advocate that the nation and civil society organisation should be allowed to monitor budget execution and be able to call the government to order when things are not going well. This can be done through an establishment of a budget monitoring think-tank, which ought to be vibrant and vigorous in budget monitoring activities. It is time for civil society organisations and all emaSwati to come forth and call for transparency in expenditures and revenues of the government. The nation loses a lot in corruption and our active citizenship in the monitoring of the budgets is crucial, this will also go a long way in cultivating a sustainable development trajectory for the country.
Sustainable development
Inclusive growth requires that all citizens be active participants in shaping the allocation of resources so the needs of all citizens are met. Idea sharing and planning for the collective good is a critical enabler to inclusive growth and inclusive development of the country. It is imperative that the Finance Ministry ensures that ideas and inputs are sought from all emaSwati, from different walks of life. It is against this though that I would find the exercise to be more fruitful if space to contribute to the budget would be open beyond the online platforms.
These platforms make it easier for the people to participate, but discriminatory to those that do not have access to technology. In coming years, and in the next iterations of the exercise, there should be efforts to include all emaSwati to participate in the budget since this is a crucial fiscal policy intervention.
Opening up spaces for civic participation is requisite for inclusive growth, diversity of ideas is imperative for diversifying economies. We are making headway as a country in opening up spaces for civic participation we need to calibrate the methodology so that it is truly meaningful and impactful, not to be seen as a window dressing endeavour.
Civic participation
I will end by congratulating the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini on the efforts it is making on improving civic participation in the country. We grow as a nation if we allow our citizens to participate effectively in policy decision in the country. We need to ensure that we are deliberate and the inputs of the people are taken into consideration for this exercise to be impactful.
Source: TIMES
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