Participatory Budgeting

By
Sulaiman Kiggundu

ESAMI TRAINING
ACTIVITY BASED BUDGETING
15th -26TH JUNE 2015
KAMPALA, Uganda
 OUTLINE
• What is Participatory Budgeting (PB)?
• Why LGs promote PB?
• How to implement PB?
• PB best practices
• Lessons learnt
 The Economist…..

• Citizens should be wary if a government

conceals its spending….

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 The Budget….very important!!!
• The national budget is a country’s single most
important policy instrument
• It is a reflection of political manifesto and
government priorities
• It determines public income, spending, access to
social services such as education, health care, water
and overall quality of life
• Public access to budget information is therefore
essential to assess government responsiveness to
citizens’ needs and the informed participation of
citizens in the budget process

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 What is Participatory Budgeting
Def.1.It is a process of prioritization and co-joint
decision making through which citizens and local
government decide together the final allocation of
public investment

• Include citizens in the formulation of annual budget

• It is a complement of formal representation
structures
• PB rules prioritize the poorest
• It is based on territorial and thematic divisions
• It is the cutting edge of participation in LG
 What is Participatory Budgeting

Def. 2.Participatory budgeting is a process of democratic

deliberation and decision-making, where ordinary community
members decide how to allocate part of a public budget
through a series of local assemblies and meetings.
It usually features:
– community members identifying spending priorities and electing
budget delegates to represent them,
– budget delegates transforming community priorities into concrete
project proposals,
– public employees facilitating and providing technical assistance,
– community members voting on which projects to fund, and
– the public authority implementing the projects.
 Participatory Budgeting
• Participatory Budgeting (PB) can be broadly defined as a
mechanism that allows citizen direct participation in all
phases of the budget cycle:

– formulation, decision making, and monitoring of budget execution.

• PB aims to:
– Bring citizen voice into the budgeting process through greater
inclusion;
– Increase transparency and understanding of budget constraints;
– Improve targeting of public spending; and
– Reduce corruption
 Increased participation
• Opening up the budget process to direct involvement
of the community is a guaranteed way of getting the
community involved
• It has been used in particular to engage and
empower the poorest members of society,
• Being involved in the budget process builds people’s
capacity and interest in being involved in other
government and governance processes
• It relies on a healthy civil society and helps to
maintain and build that level of civil society
 Why do PB?
Participatory budgeting can lead to:
• more equitable public spending
• higher quality of life through increased
satisfaction of basic needs,
• greater government transparency and
accountability,
• increased levels of public participation
 It’s about sharing power!

• Principle involved is that citizens have the

right to control the budget, because the
budget is the real face of the government
• It’s not just consultation.
PB’s biggest strength and greatest weakness

• The biggest strength and the greatest

weakness of participatory budgeting is that it
is focused on short-term tangible outcomes.
• It appeals to people’s self interest and
benefits, not just community benefit
 Why LGs promote PB?
• To increase effectiveness and efficiency of budgeting and service
delivery
– making budgeting formulation and implementation more transparent
and accountable to citizens
– Matching technical capacity of LG in budget formulation with citizens
needs
• To increase equity
– Creating an simple mechanism of involving the poor and traditionally
excluded in accessing public resources and decision making
• To ensure sustainability
– Increase LG government revenue capacity and investment quality
– Strengthen civil society organization
– Build a constructive dialogue between LG and civil society
– Building active citizenship and accountable institutions
 How to implement PB
1- LOCAL
MEETINGS

3- APPROVAL
IMPLEMENTATION
2- PB COMMITTEE
ACTIVITIES
 How to implement PB
LOCAL MEETINGS
• Awareness campaign/preparatory community meetings
• Information about financial situation and forecast
– Information about public works in progress
– Discussion of PB rules
• Identification of local priorities
– Discussion of local and thematic priorities
– Selection of local and thematic priorities
• Election of PB local delegates
– Each local areas elects their representatives to the PB Committee
 How to implement PB?
- PB COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES
• Establishment of PB Committee
– 50% civil society + 50% LG delegates (usually)
• Discuss of all local and thematic priorities
– Official opening of the PB Committee
– Presentation of all priorities
– Capacity building activities
• Understanding the overall situation
– Visit of all priorities
– Deepening discussion of LG revenue and capital invts
– Monitor current investments
 How to implement PB?
PB COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES
• Technical and financial analysis by LG\
– Analyses to fit proposal according to technical criteria
– Several institutions and departments provide technical information
– Reconciliation of demands with budget
• Prioritization
– Analysis of priorities based on prioritization matrix
– Discussions with Municipal Council members
– Consensus building
– Allocation of resources based on prioritization matrix
• Budget detailing
 How to implement PB?
• Approval of the Budget Proposal by the PB Committee
– Usually by consensus
– If necessary by voting
• Formal Approval of the Budget by the Council
– Submission of PB budget to Mayor
– PB Committee send the budge proposal for approval
– Strong participation of citizens
– LG Council hold the final decision
• Budget Implementation and Follow-up
– Delegates and citizens monitor the budget implementation
– Discussion of necessary changes in the rules of PB
– Start of a new year of the PB
 Best Practices
• 15 countries have some kind of PB
– Brazil, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, Mexico
– Check Republic, Scandinavian countries
– US, Canada
• In 2003 there were more than 250 municipalities with PB in Brazil
• 59% of municipalities over 100.000 inhabitants have implemented
PB
• All political parties despite ideological positions have implemented
• Some State governments have started to implemented the
methodology
• The Federal Government adopted PB methodology in the
formulation of the last Multi-Year National Investment Plan (PPA)
Region and theme assemblies
What happens in your Local Government?

• At your table discuss the budget processes

that are currently in use in your Local
Government
• What are their advantages and disadvantages?
• Report back
 Could PB work for you?
• What would you see the main advantages in
introducing PB to your Local Government?

• What would be the main disadvantages, or the

biggest barriers in introducing it?