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Why should we demystify the budget? This a is a question that has been answered in many ways but still calls for more questions? The answer depends on which budget we are refering to. I presume that answers will vary from country to country and based on the degree of decentralisation. Where local governments are not fully taking over service delivery, demystification of the national budget makes more sense whereas if functionns are fully devolved then demystification of the local government budget makes better sense. In a situation of notable devolution the National budget is left to respond to all-inclusive provision of national goods and services (security, defence, foreign policy etc) while local governments are expected to meeting the service and development needs of the local people.

Most civil society groups are pre-occupied with demysfying the national budget for the simple reason that the ministry of finannce are seen as the "block" to reason with rather than the local government. In my view civil society should start with the local government budget, and make it "chewable" to to the common person.

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This project proposal seeks to promote inclusive citizenship and proactive engagement for development by demystifying budgets and participatory budgeting as a governance tool. It is geared towards fostering budget transparency, participation and independent oversight at the Local Government level with a view to fast tracking developmental outputs and outcomes in the participating countries . There is a general consensus that development must be participatory and demand-driven with a view to amplifying the voices of the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized, particularly women and children. Local Government Councils should therefore take charge of local affairs over which they have a competitive advantage vis-à-vis central Government and create the space for community involvement in participatory planning and budgeting. As subjects of rights, community stakeholders must have a say in the processes and decisions that affect their lives. But first, the peer institutions must be au fait with the processes, tools and techniques of participatory budgeting. The long-term future of local development depends on the ability of both state and non-state actors to respond to the concrete aspirations of local communities via effective and efficient upward and downward accountability mechanisms. Click here to download Full Proposal

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