AFRO-NETS> Poverty reduction and the budget cycle

[Claudio Schuftan <aviva@netnam.vn>]

Poverty reduction and the budget cycle
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POVERTY REDUCTION AND NATIONAL BUDGETS
 
The availability and allocation of budgetary resources says a lot 
about whether, how, and to what extent a government is committed and 
determined to implement its pro-poor policies.
 
National budgets are a 'black and white' proof of whether governments 
are putting their money where their mouth is. Through it, policies 
which promote equality between different income quintiles (as well as 
between men and women) can be identified. Therefore, for civil soci-
ety to track the national budget, is an essential tool in combating 
poverty and inequality.
 
There is a caveat though: Even if allocations are made in the na-
tional budget, keep in mind that, in many cases, accounts are not 
fully closed and audited after the respective fiscal year. Therefore 
'budget accountability' has to be checked throughout the year, be-
cause accounts close the last day of each fiscal year --and nothing 
can be done thereafter.
 
Pro-poor policies -- the way we want them to be singled out and 
funded -- may not even be reflected in budgets any time soon (and by 
extension, governments are not likely to make much progress in reduc-
ing poverty...), I am afraid. That is a whole additional challenge: 
to exert the needed pressures for poverty reduction measures to make 
it into the national budget.
 
That is why assuring a broad participation of the country's genuine 
representatives of the interests of the poor and marginalized is so 
vital. They must:
- be present in the diagnosis and analysis of the country's poverty
  situation,
- check that assistance and services are delivered where most needed,
- annually review the national budget for any omissions, misalloca-
  tion (or misappropriation) of resources, and
- monitor budgeted programs' outcomes,
- make 'noise' about all of the above.
 
National budgets (including foreign aid allocations) are indeed a 
powerful, underutilized, instrument to keep authorities accountable!
 
PS: If you are a sectoral person (and feel more comfortable 'in your 
territory'), the same applies for the health budget, the education 
budget, the agricultural budget.....
 
Claudio Schuftan
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
mailto:aviva@netnam.vn
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