Budget and Budget Oversight and Review of Development Assistance

Budget and Budget Oversight and Review of Development Assistance The Annual National Budget forms a core component of the Social Contract between citizens and their state, in terms of the funding for the Public Goods that are required to be provided by the State for the population (including businesses) and the collection of that funding, in the form of taxes and duties from the public and busines. [...] Access to loan finance details, project agreements, contracts, debt levels, conditions, duration and servicing costs are all critical components, including the openness of transactions, such as between resource companies and the State, and between the State and sub-national governments and stakeholders, and ensuring no conflicts of interest by officials/leaders in contracts, and openness of benefi. [...] But openness only goes so far; It also requires active interest and engagement by the public, at the national and local levels, in engaging and understanding the budget process and engaging actively in its oversight, together with the official watchdogs, including the Finance Inspectorate, the Auditor General’s office, the Ombudsman (including applying the Leadership Code, which needs to be streng. [...] It will also be facilitating public examination of the annual Budget and the 5 year Medium Term Development Plan 4 (2023-27), whether they reflect the public priorities and whether they are delivering what is required by the public and good value for money, including whether waste or other maladministration and abuse may be involved in its application, nationally or at the local level. [...] The findings from the 2023 Open Budget Survey will be launched in early 2024, and also the Bertelsmann Transformation Index review of the state of governance, democracy and the economy and business conditions.