The budget is governments’ most important economic tool.
Budgets translate a government’s policies, political commitments and goals into decisions on how much revenue to raise, how it plans to raise it and how to use these funds to meet the country’s competing needs, from bolstering security to improving health care and alleviating poverty.
A budget system that functions well is crucial to developing sustainable fiscal policies and economic growth.
In many countries, economic problems are exacerbated by weak budget systems and faulty budget choices.
Given its wide-ranging implications for a country’s people, the budget should be the subject of significant scrutiny and debate.
While a government’s budget directly or indirectly affects the lives of every one of its citizens, it can have the greatest impact on certain groups, such as the elderly, children, the poor, rural residents, and minorities. The well being and prospects of these people can hinge greatly upon government decisions on raising and spending money.
Moreover, even when funds have been allocated to specific programs, weak expenditure and programme management can result in funds never reaching the intended beneficiaries. The lack of political power among these marginalised people to hold their government accountable is another factor in poor budget execution (i.e., after the budget is passed, how money is actually raised and spent).
The budget is more than just a single document.It is a year-long cycle whose different phases offer civil society varying access points to influence how public resources are raised and spent and, ultimately, the budget’s desired outcomes.
Besides the fact that copies of the budget, a public document for monitoring governance which is expected to be produced in large quantities could not be found in any part of the state, including Ministries and parastatals accessing it on the internet either is an impossible task.
However, residents of Oyo, Ogbomoso and Oke-Ogun areas have berated the Oyo State Government’s unfaithfulness to them in terms of budget implementation.
They were unhappy that contrary to propaganda, projects slated and situated in the annual budget by Governor Abiola Ajimobi for implementation in the areas were mere paper works.
These facts were re-echoed by a group known as Civil Coalition for Good Governance. The group is being coordinated by Justice Development and Peace Movement (JDPM), an arm of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo.
The forum meets monthly in Oyo town to interact on peoples’ interests, what affects their lives, and on common challenges.
The interactive forum is open to a cross section of people including lecturers, civil servants, women, politicians, professionals, youths, contractors, traders, artisans, religious leaders and transporters from about 17 local governments in Oyo, Ogbomoso, and Oke-Ogun areas.
The forum had observed in 2012 Budget that in Oyo zone, barely a month to the end of the year, a sum of N10 million was earmarked respectively for the erection of fence, and procurement of 30KVA generator for Ilora General Hospital, in Afijio local government area, but which are yet to be implemented till today.
“Also, the extent of execution of work carried out on the renovation at the Government Technical College, Oyo, put at a cost of N36.5million is far from expectation.
It stated that government is yet to construct cattle paddock at Fashola farm settlement in Oyo-West local government area, put at a cost of N3 million. On the renovation at the Government Technical College, Oyo, put at a cost of N36.5 million, work is also yet to commence.
Similarly, N18 million Imini community rural electrification project in Afijio local government area, N13.7 million Ajeje/Isale –Alufa rural electrification and N11million Ilupeju community rural electrification projects both in Atiba local government area are yet to be executed,
The Forum also disclosed that in Oke-Ogun area, works are yet to begin on the rehabilitation of many roads which costs about N600 million.
“These roads include Alaga/Ago-Are/Saki at a cost N380 million and Iganna/Iwere-ile/Ijio/Ayegun at a cost of N200 million. These roads remain as undulating as they were without any sign of rehabilitation. Another road which is Bode –Isalu/ Oke Adeta/ Oke-Afin/ Iseyin road put at a cost of N8.2 million is yet to be implemented.”
It further disclosed that N17.5million earmarked for the rehabilitation of rural water supply at Ago-Amodu, Ogboro, Akufo, Okeho and Alabata communities were yet to see the light of the day.
The Forum also informed that “the state government in its 2012 budget said it would construct three workshops at Government Technical Colleges in Iseyin, Saki, and Ibadan at a cost of N78 million. Till now, that of Iseyin and Saki were yet to be constructed, though we couldn’t say that of Ibadan, the state capital. Also, construction of fence at General Hospital, Iwere-Ile, and procurement of a 30KVA transformer for the General Hospital in Iseyin all at a cost of N10 million are yet to be executed”.
The forum also queried award of contract for the rehabilitation of Akinmoorin/Iware road at a cost N13.5 million, when the road had already been constructed by the immediate past Otunba Alao Akala administration, barely two years before leaving office.
The Forum also queried the oversight functions of members of the House of Assembly, saying their responsibility in ensuring good governance and probity left much to be desired.
At its recent sensitisation workshop on budget monitoring facilitated by a Non-Governmental Organisation, BUDGIT, the Coordinator of JDpM, Reverend Father Gabriel Adeleke, urged participants to avail themselves of the opportunity by taking notes of what are being taught with all seriousness it deserves.
Father Adeleke said this is the only way to engender better understanding about budget monitoring and the process of engaging leaders on budget implementation for sustainable democratic governance.
In their lecture titled; Importance of Budget And Budget Tracking, two officials of BUDGIT, Stanley Achonu and Abiola Afolabi, who were resource persons, in their separate submissions, said participatory budgeting allows the citizens living in an area (or within a specific community) to participate in the debate about what needs to be done and take decisions on the allocation of, at least, some of the available public funding.
This, according to them is aimed at increasing public knowledge about how their taxes are spent, hence, information must be simple to understand, relevant and easy to get hold of.
While expressing strong indignation at un-curtailed impunity, monumental fraud and large-scale corruption bedeviling the nation’s polity to the detriment of teeming impoverished citizens, the resource persons called government at all levels to ensure public accessibility of their annual budgets.
According to them, “some of the so-called projects put in the budget by governments are not really needed. It is imperative for the people to know that the budget is for them and not the government, hence the need to shun complacency and be more inquisitive and interested about how you are being governed through effective budget monitoring.’’
Some of the participants, Peter Oyeniran, a retired civil servant and Chief Lucas Adekunle, a retired principal and vice-chairman, Civil Coalition for Good Governance, condemned insensitivity of the state government for not releasing annual budgets for members of the public.
Also, residents of Kajola, Iwajowa, Itesiwaju, Atisbo, Saki-East and Orelope local government areas of Oke-Ogun did not hide their anger for what they referred to as “total neglect of the state’s food basket’’ by the Ajimobi administration.
