Budget Transparency a tool for enhancing citizen’s participation

The demand for citizen’s participation in the budget process has been strident in the last decade in Nigeria, causing the government to take on measures to make the budget planning processes participatory. This has however not been without challenges due to a culture of secrecy and the mindset of public officers towards non-state actors.


The Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) of 2007 and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act (2011) are key instruments that support citizens’ participation in the budgeting process. But the extent to which these laws have created an enabling environment is still questionable in the Nigeria context. For instance the FRA suggests public consultations in preparation of the draft Medium-term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and publishing of such in the gazette after approval by the National Assembly. The 2013 public consultations on the MTEF were held in Lagos and Abuja with notices of less than two working days thus limiting effective and meaningful participation from the public.


Citizens’ participation is important because it underscores accountability and non-discrimination in allocating public resources. Citizens can participate in budget planning processes only if the process is transparent and inclusive.


Oftentimes budget transparency is limited to making federal or state appropriation laws open and accessible to the public. But budget transparency entails more than that.


Budget transparency is a full disclosure of all relevant fiscal information in a timely and systematic manner or simply put public access to budget information. The extent and quality of such access to information shapes public understanding of government’s decision pertaining to budgets, determines the extent of public participation and forms the foundation on which the government can be held accountable for the budget.


Some of the relevant fiscal information as relates to Nigeria include: the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, budget proposal, enacted budget, citizen’s budget, in-year reports, midyear review, year end report and audit reports.


In Nigeria the Budget Office of the Federation, a department of the Federal Ministry of Finance is responsible for putting this information in the public domain through a website. Publication of fiscal information by the budget office is not timely, oftentimes or never made public at all.


As at October 2012, the midyear review of the 2012 budget which took effect from April 2012 is not yet in the public domain nor accessible to citizens. The 1st and 2nd quarter reports for 2012 only got published on the website in October 2012.The 2011 fourth quarter report was made public in the fourth quarter of 2012. Untimely release of budget reports limits the participation of citizens in monitoring and appraising implementation with a view to holding their government accountable.


The annual Audit report in a budget year is supposed to be released at the end of the suceding year. For example the audited report for 2012 would be released on or before the end of 2013. However in Nigeria audited reports are hardly made public and are often released two years after the implementing year! The absence probably a budget law which compels government to a budget calendar may be contributing largely to the ineffectiveness of government in adhering to these practices.


Best practices Nigeria may learn from are encoded in the IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Responsibility (2007). It comprises four main sections – Roles and responsibilities, Open Budgets, Public Availability of Information and Assurances of Integrity.


Of interest are sections two and three which deal with issues on open budgets and public availability of information. Each of these sections presents a list of good practices some of which are practiced in Nigeria but to a limited extent.


It is therefore important to highlight some areas of Good Practices and draw our recommendations in order to ensure fiscal (budget) transparency and public participation.


The current practice is that call circulars are sent out to Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDA) around midyear (June or July)to send in budget proposals. By October a draft bill is put together by the Federal Ministry of Finance and sent to the National Assembly by the President. All things being equal the National Assembly approves the bill by the end of December and it is signed into law by the president in January of the new year.


It is important Nigeria follows a budget calendar backed by law, which specifies exactly what time the budget process should begin and end and strictly adhered to. It should provide adequate time for the draft budget to be considered by the Legislators. The government may consider a budget calendar that starts from March to December which allows for the Medium Term Expenditure Framework to be sent to the NA four months before the beginning of the next financial as stipulated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act.


With such a law in place it will enable timely submission of midyear report on budget developments to the legislature and quarterly updates, which should be published.

Audited final accounts and audit reports, including reconciliation with the approved budget, should be presented to the legislature and published within a year as opposed to the current practice where audited reports are not available in the public domain earlier than two years after implementing the budget

In addition practices such as identifying separately receipts from major revenue sources, including resources from foreign assistance should be properly documented in the annual budget presentation. This will give a clear picture of the gross revenue for the period.

Budget documentation should also report the fiscal position of sub national governments (states) and the finances of public corporations.

A clear and simple summary guide to the budget should be widely distributed at the time of the annual budget. This will aid citizens in understanding budget provisions and those interested in monitoring can do so

Results achieved from major budget programmes should be presented to the legislature annually. This will assist them monitor budget implementation and make appropriate adjustments where necessary.

The timely publication of fiscal information should be a legal obligation of government. Current practice is not bound by law and so information are released at will and untimely thus affects effective and timely interventions by the public.

Calendars for fiscal information should be announced, released in advance and adhered to. If this is practiced Citizens will be informed timely on when particular actions are taking plan and engage the process as appropriate.

Finally, the government should ensure it publishes a periodic report on long-term public finances. This will keep legislators including the public abreast of relevant information needed for long term planning.













written by Esther Agbon