Namibia scores 51 out of 100 for budget transparency
ELLANIE SMIT
WINDHOEK
Namibia can further improve its budget transparency by providing more substantial information on the spending and allocation of public money.
This is according Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) executive director, Graham Hopwood.
The IPPR conducted the Namibian research for the recently published Open Budget Survey 2019.
Namibia was ranked second in southern Africa and fourth in Africa in terms of budget transparency with a score of 51 out of 100.
The country improved slightly from its previous score of 50 in 2017.
Hopwood said the current coronavirus pandemic has resulted in many countries imposing emergency spending measures. Namibia has postponed the tabling of its 2020/21 budget while parliament remains out of action at least until mid-May.
“Fiscal transparency is absolutely crucial during times of national emergency, as it is more important than ever to ensure government spending is effective and positively assists the people in need.”
In terms of the Open Budget Survey, a score of 61 is considered the minimum threshold to foster an informed public debate on budgets. The global average transparency score in the 2019 survey was 45.
Out of the 117 countries assessed, Namibia came 47th, the same position as two years ago.
“Namibia is performing better than the global average, but can still do more to join the ranks of those countries considered to be providing substantial information on both the allocation and spending of public money,” said Hopwood.
He said Namibia could make further strides in budget transparency by improving the timing of audit reporting and making the accountability report more comprehensive.
According to the IPPR, Namibia published seven of the eight required public documents within the timeframe set by the survey.
Only a comprehensive audit report on government expenditure was published late.
This is an improvement on 2017, when several documents were either not issued or published late.
The survey recommended that the finance ministry introduce pilot mechanisms to engage the public during budget formulation and monitor budget implementation.
Parliament should also provide opportunities for the public to testify during hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval and during hearings on audit reports.
South Africa topped the 2019 transparency rankings in southern Africa with a score of 87, while Zimbabwe was ranked third with a score of 49.
In Africa, Namibia lagged behind South Africa, Uganda (58) and Ghana (54).
Worldwide, New Zealand and South Africa have the highest transparency scores with 87 points each, followed by Sweden (86), and Mexico (82).
Comoros, Venezuela and Yemen have the lowest scores of zero.
WINDHOEK
Namibia can further improve its budget transparency by providing more substantial information on the spending and allocation of public money.
This is according Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) executive director, Graham Hopwood.
The IPPR conducted the Namibian research for the recently published Open Budget Survey 2019.
Namibia was ranked second in southern Africa and fourth in Africa in terms of budget transparency with a score of 51 out of 100.
The country improved slightly from its previous score of 50 in 2017.
Hopwood said the current coronavirus pandemic has resulted in many countries imposing emergency spending measures. Namibia has postponed the tabling of its 2020/21 budget while parliament remains out of action at least until mid-May.
“Fiscal transparency is absolutely crucial during times of national emergency, as it is more important than ever to ensure government spending is effective and positively assists the people in need.”
In terms of the Open Budget Survey, a score of 61 is considered the minimum threshold to foster an informed public debate on budgets. The global average transparency score in the 2019 survey was 45.
Out of the 117 countries assessed, Namibia came 47th, the same position as two years ago.
“Namibia is performing better than the global average, but can still do more to join the ranks of those countries considered to be providing substantial information on both the allocation and spending of public money,” said Hopwood.
He said Namibia could make further strides in budget transparency by improving the timing of audit reporting and making the accountability report more comprehensive.
According to the IPPR, Namibia published seven of the eight required public documents within the timeframe set by the survey.
Only a comprehensive audit report on government expenditure was published late.
This is an improvement on 2017, when several documents were either not issued or published late.
The survey recommended that the finance ministry introduce pilot mechanisms to engage the public during budget formulation and monitor budget implementation.
Parliament should also provide opportunities for the public to testify during hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval and during hearings on audit reports.
South Africa topped the 2019 transparency rankings in southern Africa with a score of 87, while Zimbabwe was ranked third with a score of 49.
In Africa, Namibia lagged behind South Africa, Uganda (58) and Ghana (54).
Worldwide, New Zealand and South Africa have the highest transparency scores with 87 points each, followed by Sweden (86), and Mexico (82).
Comoros, Venezuela and Yemen have the lowest scores of zero.
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