Why is it important to monitor government budgets?

In a democracy, citizens have a right to know what money is being spent on, and what decisions their elected representatives make on their behalf. It is only with this knowledge that elected officials can be held accountable for their budget planning, allocations and implementation. Monitoring government budgets is also conducive to better decision-making within government. It provides a forum for purposeful and concrete engagement between the executive, the legislatures and civil society around critical choices and outcomes.

Legislatures play an important role in monitoring government budgets. Most democratic constitutions demand that parliament deliberate on and approve the annual budget. Transparency and accountability are only achieved through independent checks on the integrity of a budget. Is government doing what it says it will be doing? Parliament is an ideal space to promote openness and debate around budgets.

Civil society can make a significant contribution to the development and maintenance of a good budget system by:

• simplifying budgets and deepening the debate around budget policies and decisions;
• collating and disseminating budget information in user-friendly formats;
• providing independent critical analysis;
• bringing new information to the debate;
• providing training in budget analysis and advocacy;
• helping to build a culture of accountability;
• advocating for more access to budget decision-making;
• mobilising stakeholders, interest groups and citizens; and
• providing input into budget decisions through existing channels of access (for instance submissions to parliamentary committees