Namibia lauded for improving budget transparency
Country now ranks third on continent
While Namibia's rankings have improved regarding the transparency of its budgeting process, commentators believe there is still more to be done.
The Open Budget Survey (OBS) has praised Namibia for making improvements with regards to its budget transparency.Namibia now ranks third on the African continent in terms of budget transparency amid suggestions that its ranking can still improve considerably. South Africa claimed the first position, followed by Zimbabwe in the latest OBS rankings.
Namibia scored 54 out of 100 for transparency and 46 out of 100 for budgetary oversight.
Reacting to the outcomes of the OBS, finance minister Ipumbu Shiimi on Friday said Namibia subscribes to the OBS through the International Budget Partnership (IBP).
The OBS is a biennial measure anchored on three pillars: budget transparency (public access to key national budget information), public participation (opportunities for public participation in budget processes) and budget oversight (the role of formal oversight institutions).
According to Shiimi, the OBS is an independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria for budget transparency in 120 countries.
Budget transparency assesses public access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources. It assesses the online availability, timeliness and comprehensiveness of key budget documents using 109 equally weighted indicators and scores each country on a scale of 0 to 100.
Shiimi noted that a growing body of evidence shows that countries that have more open budgeting systems have stronger democracies, greater equity and better development outcomes.
“Higher levels of transparency are also associated with lower debt levels and improved debt management, more accurate revenue projections and better credit ratings, which in turn can help the country to attract investment and reduce sovereign borrowing costs. Increased public participation in budgeting can also lead to more efficient and effective expenditures of public resources towards national and SDG-aligned priorities, including human capital development,” he said last week.
Room for improvement
While Namibia can be proud of improving its overall ranking, Shiimi stressed that there is still room for improvement in the budgeting process.
“I am informed that the results of the 2023 Namibia Open Budget Survey ranking have improved in comparison to preceding years. This demonstrates that our efforts are slowly but surely starting to yield some positive outcomes. Nonetheless, there is still room for improvement,” the minister said.
“We still need to continue redoubling our efforts as we go with the process to ensure that all Namibian citizens have access to budget information and are integrated to the full extent of participating in the national budgeting process,” he added.
Public participation
The ministry of finance will also engage the public to gain input into budgeting priorities, Shiimi noted.
He said the regional budget engagements start next week on 13 and 14 June.
"We will be in the Omaheke Region, engaging the regional government as well as the business community. The week after, 18 to 22 June, we will be in the Kunene, Oshikoto and Ohangwena regions,” Shiimi said.
The public is encouraged to participate in the budgeting process.
“From our end, in addition to continuing the regional engagements, we are committed to ensuring the timely publication of core budget documents. At the same time, we will also continuously review and enhance the content of these documents to ensure that they are fit for purpose and are meeting the expectations of the public,” Shiimi said.
Engage vulnerable communities
Meanwhile, the Institute of Public Policy and Research (IPPR) has recommended Namibia prioritise the publication of in-year reports online in a timely manner.
“Include in the year-end report comparisons between borrowing estimates and actual outcomes and comparisons between the original macroeconomic forecast and actual outcomes. Improve the comprehensiveness of the Citizens Budget and Enacted Budget,” the IPPR said.
The IPPR also called on government to seek input from marginalised communities to ensure broad representation in the process.
“Actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, directly or through civil society organisations representing them,” the think tank recommended.
The IPPR further encouraged greater participation in the budgeting process by the Office of the Auditor General to help develop an audit programme for accountability purposes.
“Namibia's Office of the Auditor General should prioritise the following actions to improve public participation in the budget process and establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist in developing its audit programme and to contribute to relevant audit investigations,” it said.