Aid and budget transparency in Mozambique

Written by Administrator Friday, 16 July 2010 09:27

The Informal Governance Group and Alliance 2015 have produced a report: “Aid and budget transparency in Mozambique: Constraints for civil society, the parliament and the government”.

The report concludes that more transparency about the aid that donors provide to Mozambique and about the state budget is needed in order to ensure accountability to citizens regarding the use of public resources. Unclear processes and insufficient information about both aid – which makes up approximately half of the government’s budget – and about the budget process itself, make it extremely difficult for the parliament, let alone civil society organisations to oversee the allocation and expenditure of money. Multiple aid channels and unpredictable aid also make it difficult for the Mozambican government to plan properly.

The report also makes a number of recommendations for the different actors involved. Donors need to provide more timely information about predictable aid and channel more of their aid through government systems. The government should publish revenue reports and make the Economic and Social Plans the basis of the State Budget which should in turn be clearly linked to the medium-term expenditure framework.

Civil society and the parliament both need to increase their monitoring and oversight role. Parliamentarians need to take a more proactive role in demanding accountability and transparency from the government and donors, and in demanding transparency and effectiveness in the districts that they are linked to. Civil society organisations could increase their capacity to engage in budget monitoring by focusing on a few strategic areas.

Read the full report in English or Spanish: