Deepak L Xavier

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• by
• Deepak L Xavier

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(No Transcript)
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Origin of Budget
Etymological Meaning French word bougette
means a small bag or a briefcase containing the
financial proposals
The term budget has been used for the annual
financial plan presentation since 1733.
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What is Budget?
Different views about budget Common View A
Statement of expected income and estimated
expenditure. Technical View Document showing
government expenditure and revenue proposals.
Our View Statement of policy priorities and
fiscal targets
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Why Budgets Conceal More than they Reveal?
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The duckrabbit illusion was used by Thomas Kuhn in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions to demonstrate the way in which a paradigm shift could cause one to see the same information in an entirely different way.
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Budget Vs Ideology?

• the budget is the skeleton of the state stripped
  of all misleading ideologies Joseph
  Schumpeter.
• When the misleading ideologies are stripped away,
  what is left is the actual ideology of those who
  hold power budget is the actual proof of a
  governments ideology, and its commitment towards
  various sections of the population and sectors of
  the economy.

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Why bother about Budget? I

• Budget is central to governance
• It is the most vital instrument at the disposal
  of the State to deliver a wide range of
  responsibilities translate promises and
  commitments into practise
• Budgets affect every sector of the economy and
  every section of the population
• It reflects a government's social and economic
  policy priorities more than any other document,
  translating policies, political commitments, and
  goals into decisions on where funds should be
  spent, and on whom and how these funds should be
  raised

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Why bother about Budget? II

• The policy priorities driving the Budget and
  implementation of the Budget proposals are of
  direct relevance to the entire population
• But frequently people from the most vulnerable
  sections of society are the ones who most
  severely suffer the consequences.
• The social exclusion extends to the economic
  realms of wages, jobs, education, and land
  social exclusion is economics!
• The marginalised suffer from the dual
  discrimination of severe economic exploitation
  and social discrimination.
• Historically, mass/social movements have worked
  mainly on civil and political rights not much
  work on economic rights.
• Budget work has the potential to ensure economic
  justice, which in turn will empower the
  marginalised to regain civil, political, social
  and cultural rights.

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What is budget work?

• Budget analysis is the process through which the
  government budgets are scrutinised from the
  perspective of poor and marginalised.
• Focus is on critically evaluating budgetary
  allocations made by governments and tracking
  expenditure undertaken on the basis of those
  allocations to determine the extent to which
  policy translates into outcomes.
• Budget work is an effective tool for
• - making governance accountable
• - advocacy for policy changes

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Budget Cycle
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What Civil Society budget groups attempt to do?

• Demystify budget and budgetary process for
  transparency and making it people friendly
• Make governance accountable to the people
• Make policy makers sensitive to popular needs and
  concerns
• Awareness on Government Performance
• Create Public Pressure on issues of the
  marginalised sections
• Initiate public argument and debate around macro
  economic issues from peoples perspective
• Engaging institutions of governance to empower
  the marginalised through budget advocacy and
  Capacity Building
• Strategize the use of knowledge to influence
  policies and politics of the state

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Budget Advocacy an integral part of budget work

• Budget analysis is very important to scrutinize
  the Government Budgets from any perspective.
• Mere analysis of the Budgets alone cannot
  influence the policy making unless it is
  supported by proper public action or advocacy to
  promote the findings in public forums so as to
  influence the common mindset.
• Budget analysis is an advocacy tool for
  developing public understanding on policy
  priorities of the Government. This would
  eventually empower the people to seek
  Governments accountability.
• This process would provide us a large operative
  space that is unexplored to tactfully engage with
  the State, and this alternative mechanism using
  democratic space goes beyond traditional means of
  public activism.

your opponents pick your tactics
Nelson Mandela
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3 Pillars of Action Based Budget Work
Bureaucratic Action (for accountable execution
of the programmes)
Civil Society Budget work
Demystifying information for
Political Action (Lobbying for the interests of
the marginalised sections)
Public Action (For initiating debates through
Media, and other forums)
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Some advocacy tools used in budget work

• Research demystification and analysis of budget
• Networking Coalition Building responding to
  needs, initiating cross learning and amplifying
  the issues
• Lobbying
• Campaigning
• Media advocacy
• Legislative Advocacy providing information and
  research support to legislators and other
  decision makers
• Training Capacity Building

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Outcomes of Civil Society Budget Work

• Demystification enables better exchange of
  Information
• Informed demand for accountable, transparent and
  equitable resource mobilisation/use.
• People are empowered to participate in
  budget-making process, expenditure tracking and
  performance monitoring
• Creates space for mutually acceptable
  institutional arrangements between the government
  machinery and civil society

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Success factors - I

• Accuracy, accessibility, timeliness three
  pillars of good budget analysis
• Effective budget work requires analysis AND
  advocacy
• Some budget changes require long-term engagement

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Success factors - II

• Focus on whole budget process / cycle there is
  work to do in every stage
• Need for flexible political and organisational
  strategy
• Dedicated organisation capacity investing in
  staff

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To be SMART in Budget work, your objectives
should be

• SMART

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SPECIFIC

• What would you like the govt. to do?
• Specify an action the solution that you want
• Be SPECIFIC and CLEAR
• Set a specific goal to introduce a social
  security programme for unemployed / unorganised
  sector workers

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MEASURABLE

• If you cant measure it, you cant manage it
• Here measurement refers to the AMOUNT you want
  govt. to raise or spend differently
• We want Rs. 50 billion to be spent on
  constructing toilets for one million households
  in rural India.
• Not all problems can be solved by the budget
• Discrimination against women cannot be solved by
  budget alone

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ATTAINABLE

• Goals you set which are too far out of reach, you
  and your partners probably wont commit to doing
• Make Poverty History is not attainable in the
  short term. But annual targets on MDGs
• BIG enough to matter, SMALL enough to make a
  difference

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REALISTIC

• Budgets are rigid because of political
  compromises
• Everything cant be changed immediately
• Propose a plan or a way of getting there which
  makes the goal realistic
• How can what you propose be done in this years
  budget?
• How much do you want the govt. to spend and where
  should they get it?

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TIMELY

• Be realistic, but set a timeframe for the goal
  for this financial year, for 2015
• If you dont set a time or too long a timeframe,
  the commitment is too vague
• For big and long-term goals progressive
  realisation

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Popular Arguments against Civil Society Budget
work

• Budgets must be secret
• CSOs can destroy budget integrity
• NGOs pursue sectional sectoral interests
• Govt. has mandate to prepare the budget
• Potential risks of budgets can be managed

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Strong Arguments for Civil Society engagement in
Budget Processes

• Simplifying the budget and deepening debate This
  augments the outreach capacity of the state and
  legislature and builds understanding and
  participation among citizens. Simplified guides
  to the budget may cover the budget process, the
  structure of the budget, budget trends and
  current allocations, and some discussion of
  current issues.
• Collating, synthesizing and disseminating budget
  information These activities support legislature
  and civil society inputs into the budget process.
  The information may include the dissemination of
  national or regional (state level) information on
  social expenditures or the identification and
  dissemination of local and international best
  practice.
• Independent critical analysis Civil society
  budget analysis can augment the research capacity
  of legislatures and the media and, sometimes, in
  the executive. It may provide one of the few
  sources of specialized data and analysis on the
  impact of the budget on the poor.

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Strong Arguments for Civil Society engagement in
Budget Processes

• Bringing new information to budget
  decision-making Civil society budget groups are
  often able to be in close, regular contact with
  citizens and interest groups. This allows them to
  collate unique information on citizen priorities,
  non-government perspectives on the budget,
  expenditure tracking and project impact analysis.
  
• Training Many civil society organizations
  develop budget training expertise that is
  directed at augmenting the analytical and
  advocacy capacity of other civil society
  organizations, legislatures and the media
  resulting in stronger interventions and
  oversight.
• Building accountability Through its analysis and
  dissemination activities, civil society
  organizations can assist citizens and the
  legislature to reinforce channels of
  accountability. This may occur, for example, when
  groups provide accessible information or pursue
  the findings of the auditor general with relevant
  interest groups. It may also follow from
  monitoring or impact measurement activities that
  test or augment the data emerging from the
  auditor generals report.

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Major Challenges

• Analytical advocacy skills
• Macroeconomic policy environment
• Democratising Budget Work
• Budget transparency participation in the budget
  process
• Working with the executive
• Systemic engagement with the legislature policy
  makers
• Understanding ensuring IMPACT on accountability
  and policy

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FINALLY
Every action needs to be inspired and informed by
Mahatma Gandhis talisman

• I will give you a talisman Recall the face of
  the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have
  seen, and ask yourself if the step you
  contemplate is going to be of any use to him.
  Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him
  to a control over his own life and destiny? Then
  you will find your doubts and yourself melting
  away