Enhancing oversight of public finances

MANY people are familiar with the laws related to social justice issues such as land reform, but not many know about the law that changed the way Parliament deals with our money.

The Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act of 2009 sets out a new approach to the Budget process, with enhanced public participation.

Before the act was passed, Parliament could only either approve or reject the national Budget but not amend it.

It also established parliamentary committees to deal with issues related to the Budget: the finance and appropriations committees of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces.

And the act established a Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), whose main purpose is to provide independent, objective and professional research, advice and analysis to these four parliamentary committees.

Since 2013, the PBO has provided reports to Parliament on key public interest issues. Recent examples include university funding and fees, the energy choices for the new generation and Eskom’s finances and social grants.

Our constitution, in section 77, recognises that it is necessary for good governance and financial transparency for Parliament to engage actively with the budget process. Research has shown that meaningful public participation and parliamentary oversight over budget processes increases social ownership of the Budget and the effective allocation of funds, while reducing waste.

Other countries which also have a legislature budget office include Kenya, Uganda, Britain, the US, Australia and Mexico.

Recent debate in the US about the Republican Party repealing the popularly known Obamacare state health care illustrates the difficult terrain in which budget offices of legislatures operate.

The US Congressional Budget Office earned the ire of the current White House budget director after its reports estimated changing health care law to replace Obamacare could cause millions of Americans to lose health cover or significantly increase costs to those who have cover.

Although the PBO of South Africa’s Parliament is relatively new, it has been taking part in global networks of parliamentary budget offices.

It was part of starting an African network of Parliamentary Budget Offices. The network, established in 2016, held its first conference at the end of that year.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the PBO will host the second annual conference of the network. Representatives from countries in Africa and across the world from parliamentary budget offices and international organisations which support legislatures’ oversight of public funds are expected to attend.

Prof Jahed is director of the Parliamentary Budget Office.