By Abass Jalloh
Sierra Leone has improved in the global ranking in areas of transparency, public participation, and budget oversight in government policies and implementation, according to the 2021 Open Budget Survey Report that was presented by Budget Advocacy Network (BAN).
The report says Sierra Leone’s transparency score increased from 39% in 2019 to 45% in 2021, budget oversight from 42% to 46%, and public participation from 14% to 31%.
In terms of the transparency indicator, which assesses online availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of budget documents, “using 109 equally weighted indicators”, Sierra Leone (scoring 45%) is second to Ghana (56%), ahead of countries like Liberia, Nigeria, Gambia, Sao Tome, and Equatorial Guinea.
In the public participation indicator, which evaluates the practices of central government’s executive, legislature, and the supreme audit institution, Sierra Leone got ranked first (scoring 31%), topping Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Liberia, and Equatorial Guinea, and Sao Tome.
In the aspect of the budget oversight indicator, which examines the role that legislatures and supreme audit institutions play in the budget process, the report stated Audit Service Sierra Leone provided limited oversight during the budget process, with a composite oversight score of 46%. Statistics from each of the two showed that legislative oversight scored 33% while audit oversight was 72%.
Sierra Leone was urged to prioritize publishing of the pre-budget statement and mid-year review online in a timely manner, including the Executive’s Budget Proposal data on the financial position of the government and data on the microeconomic forecast, including the Year-end Report comparisons between borrowing estimates and actual outcomes.
The report recommended public participation by actively engaging with vulnerable and under-represented communities, which would allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during hearings on the budget proposal before approval or during a hearing on the Audit Report, and establish formal mechanisms for the public to contribute to relevant audit investigations.
For an improvement on budget oversight, the report says the legislature should debate budget policy before the executive’s budget proposal is tabled, approve recommendations for the upcoming budget, publish timely findings online of the examination by a legislative committee of the in-year budget implementation, and also the examination by a legislative committee on the Audit Report. The Parliament Budget Office is to aid legislators in examining in-year budget implementation by conducting their own review and analysis of the in-year reporting.
Speaking at the launch of the report yesterday 31st May 2022, at the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone (CCSL) Hall in Freetown, the Coordinator of BAN Abu Bakarr Kamara said the government has been in compliance with BAN in terms of their budgetary operations.
Kamara stated that since budgets are in the hands of the state, good governance indicators could only perform well, based on how revenues are distributed and used.
He said that in order for good strategic plans to be implemented, the people should be at the centre of policies and implementation, saying that “it is all about the people”. He said the report looked at people's involvement and representation.
Representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Audit Service, Parliament, and Christian Aid all reacted to the report.
Dr. Ilara Mahdi from the Ministry of Finance described the process as a good start, noting that the findings and the recommendations proved Sierra Leone has made progress.
Sinneh Kargbo from the Audit Service said since they are responsible for auditing funds relating to government institutions, they are pleased with the report and will be urged to improve, adding that they will try to understand why they are not marching the 100% margin.
The Director at the Parliamentary Budget Office, Ibrahim Junisa, said most of the people are not knowledgeable about budgetary issues in Parliament, adding that they expect people in all sectors to be knowledgeable enough to make decisions.
He commended that the report was timely and that they would “look at the report” to know why they dropped in transparency. He agreed that there is a “need to do more in oversight”.
Junisa recommended collaborative efforts and the publication of reports on time for review.
According to the report, only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31st December 2020 were assessed in the 2021 OBS report, and the survey is based on questionnaires completed in each country by an independent budget expert.
OBS is an organization that does comparative, independent, and regular assessments on the transparency, oversight, and public participation in public budgets in 120 countries. Sierra Leone was ranked 64 in the overall process.
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