Title: Deepak L Xavier
1 2(No Transcript)
3Origin of Budget
Etymological Meaning French word bougette
means a small bag or a briefcase containing the
financial proposals
The term budget has been used for the annual
financial plan presentation since 1733.
4What is Budget?
Different views about budget Common View A
Statement of expected income and estimated
expenditure. Technical View Document showing
government expenditure and revenue proposals.
Our View Statement of policy priorities and
fiscal targets
5Why Budgets Conceal More than they Reveal?
6The duckrabbit illusion was used by Thomas Kuhn in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions to demonstrate the way in which a paradigm shift could cause one to see the same information in an entirely different way.
7Budget Vs Ideology?
- the budget is the skeleton of the state stripped
of all misleading ideologies Joseph
Schumpeter. - When the misleading ideologies are stripped away,
what is left is the actual ideology of those who
hold power budget is the actual proof of a
governments ideology, and its commitment towards
various sections of the population and sectors of
the economy.
8Why bother about Budget? I
- Budget is central to governance
- It is the most vital instrument at the disposal
of the State to deliver a wide range of
responsibilities translate promises and
commitments into practise - Budgets affect every sector of the economy and
every section of the population - It reflects a government's social and economic
policy priorities more than any other document,
translating policies, political commitments, and
goals into decisions on where funds should be
spent, and on whom and how these funds should be
raised
9Why bother about Budget? II
- The policy priorities driving the Budget and
implementation of the Budget proposals are of
direct relevance to the entire population - But frequently people from the most vulnerable
sections of society are the ones who most
severely suffer the consequences. - The social exclusion extends to the economic
realms of wages, jobs, education, and land
social exclusion is economics! - The marginalised suffer from the dual
discrimination of severe economic exploitation
and social discrimination. - Historically, mass/social movements have worked
mainly on civil and political rights not much
work on economic rights. - Budget work has the potential to ensure economic
justice, which in turn will empower the
marginalised to regain civil, political, social
and cultural rights.
10What is budget work?
- Budget analysis is the process through which the
government budgets are scrutinised from the
perspective of poor and marginalised. - Focus is on critically evaluating budgetary
allocations made by governments and tracking
expenditure undertaken on the basis of those
allocations to determine the extent to which
policy translates into outcomes. -
- Budget work is an effective tool for
- - making governance accountable
- - advocacy for policy changes
11Budget Cycle
12What Civil Society budget groups attempt to do?
- Demystify budget and budgetary process for
transparency and making it people friendly - Make governance accountable to the people
- Make policy makers sensitive to popular needs and
concerns - Awareness on Government Performance
- Create Public Pressure on issues of the
marginalised sections - Initiate public argument and debate around macro
economic issues from peoples perspective - Engaging institutions of governance to empower
the marginalised through budget advocacy and
Capacity Building - Strategize the use of knowledge to influence
policies and politics of the state
13Budget Advocacy an integral part of budget work
- Budget analysis is very important to scrutinize
the Government Budgets from any perspective. - Mere analysis of the Budgets alone cannot
influence the policy making unless it is
supported by proper public action or advocacy to
promote the findings in public forums so as to
influence the common mindset. - Budget analysis is an advocacy tool for
developing public understanding on policy
priorities of the Government. This would
eventually empower the people to seek
Governments accountability. - This process would provide us a large operative
space that is unexplored to tactfully engage with
the State, and this alternative mechanism using
democratic space goes beyond traditional means of
public activism.
your opponents pick your tactics
Nelson Mandela
143 Pillars of Action Based Budget Work
Bureaucratic Action (for accountable execution
of the programmes)
Civil Society Budget work
Demystifying information for
Political Action (Lobbying for the interests of
the marginalised sections)
Public Action (For initiating debates through
Media, and other forums)
15Some advocacy tools used in budget work
- Research demystification and analysis of budget
- Networking Coalition Building responding to
needs, initiating cross learning and amplifying
the issues - Lobbying
- Campaigning
- Media advocacy
- Legislative Advocacy providing information and
research support to legislators and other
decision makers - Training Capacity Building
16Outcomes of Civil Society Budget Work
- Demystification enables better exchange of
Information - Informed demand for accountable, transparent and
equitable resource mobilisation/use. - People are empowered to participate in
budget-making process, expenditure tracking and
performance monitoring - Creates space for mutually acceptable
institutional arrangements between the government
machinery and civil society
17Success factors - I
- Accuracy, accessibility, timeliness three
pillars of good budget analysis - Effective budget work requires analysis AND
advocacy - Some budget changes require long-term engagement
18Success factors - II
- Focus on whole budget process / cycle there is
work to do in every stage - Need for flexible political and organisational
strategy - Dedicated organisation capacity investing in
staff
19To be SMART in Budget work, your objectives
should be
20SPECIFIC
- What would you like the govt. to do?
- Specify an action the solution that you want
- Be SPECIFIC and CLEAR
- Set a specific goal to introduce a social
security programme for unemployed / unorganised
sector workers
21MEASURABLE
- If you cant measure it, you cant manage it
- Here measurement refers to the AMOUNT you want
govt. to raise or spend differently - We want Rs. 50 billion to be spent on
constructing toilets for one million households
in rural India. - Not all problems can be solved by the budget
- Discrimination against women cannot be solved by
budget alone
22ATTAINABLE
- Goals you set which are too far out of reach, you
and your partners probably wont commit to doing - Make Poverty History is not attainable in the
short term. But annual targets on MDGs - BIG enough to matter, SMALL enough to make a
difference
23REALISTIC
- Budgets are rigid because of political
compromises - Everything cant be changed immediately
- Propose a plan or a way of getting there which
makes the goal realistic - How can what you propose be done in this years
budget? - How much do you want the govt. to spend and where
should they get it?
24TIMELY
- Be realistic, but set a timeframe for the goal
for this financial year, for 2015 - If you dont set a time or too long a timeframe,
the commitment is too vague - For big and long-term goals progressive
realisation
25Popular Arguments against Civil Society Budget
work
- Budgets must be secret
- CSOs can destroy budget integrity
- NGOs pursue sectional sectoral interests
- Govt. has mandate to prepare the budget
- Potential risks of budgets can be managed
26Strong Arguments for Civil Society engagement in
Budget Processes
- Simplifying the budget and deepening debate This
augments the outreach capacity of the state and
legislature and builds understanding and
participation among citizens. Simplified guides
to the budget may cover the budget process, the
structure of the budget, budget trends and
current allocations, and some discussion of
current issues. - Collating, synthesizing and disseminating budget
information These activities support legislature
and civil society inputs into the budget process.
The information may include the dissemination of
national or regional (state level) information on
social expenditures or the identification and
dissemination of local and international best
practice. - Independent critical analysis Civil society
budget analysis can augment the research capacity
of legislatures and the media and, sometimes, in
the executive. It may provide one of the few
sources of specialized data and analysis on the
impact of the budget on the poor.
27Strong Arguments for Civil Society engagement in
Budget Processes
- Bringing new information to budget
decision-making Civil society budget groups are
often able to be in close, regular contact with
citizens and interest groups. This allows them to
collate unique information on citizen priorities,
non-government perspectives on the budget,
expenditure tracking and project impact analysis.
- Training Many civil society organizations
develop budget training expertise that is
directed at augmenting the analytical and
advocacy capacity of other civil society
organizations, legislatures and the media
resulting in stronger interventions and
oversight. - Building accountability Through its analysis and
dissemination activities, civil society
organizations can assist citizens and the
legislature to reinforce channels of
accountability. This may occur, for example, when
groups provide accessible information or pursue
the findings of the auditor general with relevant
interest groups. It may also follow from
monitoring or impact measurement activities that
test or augment the data emerging from the
auditor generals report.
28Major Challenges
- Analytical advocacy skills
- Macroeconomic policy environment
- Democratising Budget Work
- Budget transparency participation in the budget
process - Working with the executive
- Systemic engagement with the legislature policy
makers - Understanding ensuring IMPACT on accountability
and policy
29FINALLY
Every action needs to be inspired and informed by
Mahatma Gandhis talisman
- I will give you a talisman Recall the face of
the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have
seen, and ask yourself if the step you
contemplate is going to be of any use to him.
Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him
to a control over his own life and destiny? Then
you will find your doubts and yourself melting
away