Daily Times

How budget cycle works, what is cut motion, to whom the budget is presented in the first place, what is Budget Call Circular and inclusive budgeting – these are some of the question which need to be addressed since a vast majority of the parliamentarians in the federal and provincial assemblies are not aware of the budget making process, hence unable to play their effective role in making the budget more accountable, transparent and inclusive to meet the larger public needs.

For instance, nearly 64% of Pakistanis have no access to safe drinking water, World Bank report states. Nearly 23 million children in Pakistan are out of Schools, the Federal Education Ministry report reveals. Similarly, the health indicators are even in the dismal state but instead, the government planning and budgets are not responsive to the basic development needs. The development funds have been conveniently used on mega transit projects and pavement of streets having no water supply lines and sewerage systems. The authorities at the local level take no responsibility of making efforts towards enrolment of the out of school children or improved supply of clean water to the households. Moreover, there is no mechanism to make budgets more inclusive that can address marginalized especially women, minorities and people with disabilities.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nearly 40,000 elected representatives, with no or limited knowledge of planning and Budget-Making, took charge in 2015. A vast majority of them used readymade project proposal documents available at their local government offices, which were based on street pavement and small bridges. This became a norm in the following years when the government released a significant amount of funds, the execution however largely did not fulfil the basic needs such as clean water or access to schools. As a result, most needed projects of public interest could not materialize, neither the elements of accountability nor inclusion could improve over time.

There is a greater need to make pre-budget consultations mandatory as per law, pre-budget statement, citizen budget, citizen budget execution report as integral part of the PFM law

At the provincial levels, the budget strategy papers are rarely made public due to the bureaucratic delays and weak inter-departmental communication. As a result, the general public often lacks awareness and ownership regarding budget-cycle, its utilization, and accountability mechanisms. With limited or no knowledge neither the public holds their elected representatives accountable, nor their representatives hold themselves accountable to their constituents.

Recent years have seen an upsurge in engagement of citizens in monitoring and assessing of government performance, especially the institutions which are providing essential services. The feedback and voicing demands for improved service delivery is referred to as social accountability. It is an approach to service delivery that is essential to promote inclusive, responsive and accountable governance through the agency of citizens. Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa being no exception has already introduced the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act, 2016, the LG Act 2013 amended by LG Act 2019 and Right to Public Services Act 2014 providing for citizens participation in the conduct of public affairs.

The ongoing initiatives for improved service delivery, transparency and accountability by the Government can be further complemented with the use of information and communication technologies. For instance the development of an interactive website may help in creating a more dynamic government with greater citizen engagement especially in the local governance. Through increased voice, transparency, and participation, and by strengthening the enabling environment, it can empower citizen’s voices, increase institutional responsiveness, and contribute to create new spaces for citizen engagement. More specifically, it can add value by enhancing responsiveness of policies, planning and services, contributing to reduce leakages in service delivery; improving efficiency in resource allocation and utilization.

One other way of making budgets more inclusive is through regular public participation and seeking their inputs at the local level. For instance, a budget for a Tehsil should include pre-budget discussions of elected representatives with their constituents. These discussions will leverage identification of key priorities which will ultimately be translated in plans and budgets. There is a greater need to make pre-budget consultations mandatory as per law, pre-budget statement, citizen budget, citizen budget execution report as integral part of the PFM law to make the budget making process more participatory and inclusive by reaching out to the public, CSO’s, academia, marginalized through public meetings or online exchanges on a dedicated portal as public engagement is a necessary complement to budget transparency.

With the rapid growth in the population, the gap between demand and supply is widening every passing day. The need for a wiser and more efficient budget making, responsive to the needs of the citizens, has increased. Women and marginalized make an important part of the “citizens” and their active participation in policymaking and development can no longer be ignored. The development gap is also widening between the countries believing in inclusivity and the countries deliberately circumventing it.

The writer is a public policy commentator and communications professional. He can be contacted at Twitter: zia051