Country Experiences in Participatory Budgeting

National Frameworks and Conditions | Case Studies | A Synthesis of experiences

Kenyan National Framework Conditions

Quotes from the Papers

	Stephen Mutoro, Nairobi   Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Council's Budget Day was a public political gimmick

LOCAL Government minis­ter Mr Musikari Kombo has pulled a fast one on local authorities. Last week, he directed them to read budgets to the public. And they did. While this is essentially nothing new, that they have not been read consecutively makes the move novel. , ,- But the question Kombo and the ministry should answer is why the budgets have not been read in four years of the Narc administra­tion. Though it is good that budgets have been read, never mind the preparation, consultation and content, hope may remain just that. The budgets were public re­lations gimmicks. Where do the budgets draw le­gitimacy if councillors and senior council officials did not consult the residents? Financial estimates are a drop in the ocean of what should be done to improve services. The budgets failed to pay atten­tion to the need for massive in­vestment in the fight against cor­ruption and lack of administrative and management systems. Most councils' use revenue to pay salaries to a bloated work force. One would have expected the budgets to provide incentives to boost collection, management and procurement systems. Competitive bidding and quality pricing of tenders would reduce expenditure. The first step has been made and we hope it is sus­tained.

Stephen Mutoro, Nairobi  

	June 30, 2007

Councils must deliver on budget pledges

Local authorities made history this week when they publicly presented their budgets in what is the beginning of an era of openness. Unlike fin the past when the councils operated their fi­nances in total secrecy, they are now under obligation to tell the public what they are doing with the rates and funds they get from the central government such as the Local Authority Transfer Fund.

The local authorities have all along earned the du­bious distinction of being dens of corruption, where councillors and staff engage in shady deals like illegal allocation of land while services are grounded. Quite often, most of the civic leaders make news for the wrong reason - wrangling and bickering over posi­tions rather than excelling in service delivery.

With their budgets made public, they are being asked to account for their existence, hi the first place, the councils collect money through land rates, rents, business licences, parking and other utilities fees, and so forth, yet the residents never get commensurate services.

Take Mombasa , for example, which although it gen­erates so much revenue through tourism, hardly has the right infrastructure to support that. Similarly, Kis-umu residents go without water for days yet the town sits right on the shores of Lake Victoria .

Nairobi , the biggest of them all, and from which a lot is expected, being the capital city, has seen con­siderable improvement, but much more still has to be done. This includes expanding the road network to ease the perennial traffic snarl-ups, as well as pro­viding parking to cater for the increased numbers of vehicles.

Even when lauding the councils for unveiling their budgets, the challenge is for them to explain how they will match their expenditures with revenue. Time is long gone when they merely relied on State handouts, meaning they have to look for alternative sources of funding, which should not necessarily translate into increased levies.

Among the options available are streamlining their debt collection processes, sealing loopholes through which funds are lost and cutting on unnecessary ex­penses.

Having spelt out their priorities in the budget, the councils have signed a contract with the public and they must deliver on that. In fact, it should now be made a condition that the councils are judged on the basis on the extent to which they deliver on their budgetary plans.

Groups

Kenya
Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)

Social Development Network (SODNET)

Contact	Edward Oyugi , Coordinator
Email	Edward@sodnet.or.ke
Website	http://www.sodnet.or.ke
Phone	+254 20 386745/6
Fax	+254 20 3872671
Address	P.O. Box 63125 Nairobi, Kenya
Areas of Expertise	Voluntary forum founded in April 1994 to promote and facilitate effective strategic alliances among NGOs interested in social development.  One of SODNET's programs is designed to facilitate popular participation in the budget process. Through social watch chapters SODNET provides opportunities for local communities to monitor the management of public resources across the country.   This is achieved by processing public demands for probity, transparency, and accountability among public servants.
Recent Reports	SODNET publishes quarterly budget briefs widely distributed to stakeholders. In the latest international edition of Social Watch , SODNET released a critical report on the history, nature, and use of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) as a budget instrument.
Major Current Activities	SODNET's Budget Literacy and Public Expenditure Monitoring Program has provided ordinary Kenyans with a platform to effectively engage with other actors.  This has allowed citizens to shape social policy processes that have an impact on development planning, resource allocation/use and monitoring of public resource management in a way that facilitates government fulfillment of the needs of the majority of its people and especially the poor. In the recent past and as an ongoing concern, SODNET has been monitoring and tracking the budget allocation and use of CDF .

Source http://www.internationalbudget.org