Sri Lanka’s budget transparency slides
Sri Lanka is amongst the four countries in the world that recorded the biggest slides in terms of budget transparency in 2012, according to a report issued by the International Budget Partnership (IBP), a unit of US-based think tank Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Lanka’s score of Open Budget Index (OBI), a measurement of predominantly the budget transparency, public participation and oversight in countries around the world, has plunged as much as 21 points to 46 in a score ranging from 0-100 in 2012, even below the median score of 47, due to the failure of the country to produce a prebudget statement, which was previously produced.
Sri Lanka, falling from the elite clan of countries where budget transparency was significant back in 2010 (with a score of 67), joined the disgraceful club of the biggest decliners of budget transparency with Egypt, Zambia and Serbia within just two years, demonstrating the regressive nature of transparency in the budgetary process in the post-war island.
Transparency International Sri Lanka functioned as the information provider on behalf of Sri Lanka for this survey, which demonstrated that Sri Lanka’s closest ally, China’s dismal performance in this sphere with an OBI score of just 11 indicating scant or no information on budgetary process.
The Open Budget Survey 2012, which also included an expanded section on legislative strength, an element which plays a critical role in public finances, showed the moderate powers or the capacity of the Lankan legislature to perform their oversight role. Only one-fifth of surveyed countries’ legislatures lacked this power.
The independence of the auditor, another element paramount in the process of assessing whether the executive has implemented the national budget according to the legislature’s directives, is too ranked moderately with regard to Sri Lanka at a time when almost two-thirds of countries have strong independent audit offices.
A critical element of submission of budget documents, which in fact was the main reason behind Sri Lanka’s slide, demonstrated that the country had stopped producing a pre-budget statement, citizen’s budget and mid-year review, which the authorities used to compile.
The fall of score to 46 in 2012 despite Sri Lanka making consistent strides in her score from 47 in 2006 to 64 in 2008 and 67 in 2010, clearly demonstrates the typically missing political will to act.
Sri Lanka has stagnated as a worst performer (-15 points or more) consecutively 2008-12 and 2010-12, while many counterparts climbing the ladder. Since 2010, the average OBI score rose from 43 to 45, while the number of countries providing significant or extensive budget information to their citizens i.e., those with an OBI score of 61 or higher, grew from 20 to 23.
Meanwhile, the number of countries providing minimal to no information at all i.e., those with an OBI score of 40 or less decreased from 40 to 34.
New Zealand topped the list with a score of 93 followed by South Africa (90), the United Kingdom (88), Sweden (84), Norway (83), France (83) and the US (79). The most notable was the significant strides made by African nations where Uganda ranked amongst the highest two categories (score of 65) demonstrating greater levels of budget transparency.
While the findings from the Open Budget Survey 2012 provide a grim picture of budget transparency, participation and accountability, it contrasts sharply with the growing body of evidence of the positive benefits of fiscal transparency, with new research showing that transparent budget systems can lead to cheaper international credit and according to the International Monetary Fund, are critical to a country's fiscal credibility and performance.