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Burkina Faso

Which countries lead in budget accountability? Which ones need improvement? Explore our data and recommendations for each of the 120 countries assessed.
Open Budget Survey Results

Public Participation

0

Budget Oversight

44

Transparency

31

Open Budget Survey 2021

Government budget decisions – what taxes to levy, what services to provide, and how much debt to take on – have important consequences for all people in society. When governments provide information and meaningful channels for the public to engage in these decisions, we can better ensure public money is spent on public interests.

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The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions, such as legislatures and national audit offices, in the budget process.

The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 8th edition of the OBS covers 120 countries.

Summary
Country Specific Assessments
Country summary EN
pdf, 319.95 KB
Questionnaire EN
pdf, 787.57 KB
31 /100

This part of the OBS measures public access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources. It assesses the online availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of eight key budget documents using 109 equally weighted indicators and scores each country on a scale of 0 to 100. A transparency score of 61 or above indicates a country is likely publishing enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.

Transparency in Burkina Faso compared to others

Global Average
45
Benin
65
Côte d'Ivoire
47
Dem. Rep. of Congo
42
Senegal
40
Cameroon
34
Burkina Faso
31
Niger
27
Mali
8
Chad
6
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Burkina Faso’s ranking: 90 of 120 countries

0
100

How has the transparency score for Burkina Faso changed over time?

5
2010
23
2012
43
2015
24
2017
31
2019
31
2021
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Public availability of budget documents in Burkina Faso

Key
Available to the Public
Published Late, or Not Published Online, or Produced for Internal Use Only
Not Produced
Scroll
Document 2010 2012 2015 2017 2019 2021
Pre-Budget Statement
Executive’s Budget Proposal
Enacted Budget
Citizens Budget
In-Year Reports
Mid-Year Review
Year-End Report
Audit Report

How comprehensive is the content of the key budget documents that Burkina Faso makes available to the public?

Key
61-100 / 100
41-60 / 100
1-40 / 100
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Key budget document Document purpose and contents Fiscal year assessed Document content score
Pre-Budget Statement Discloses the broad parameters of fiscal policies in advance of the Executive's Budget Proposal; outlines the government's economic forecast, anticipated revenue, expenditures, and debt. 2021 89
Executive’s Budget Proposal Submitted by the executive to the legislature for approval; details the sources of revenue, the allocations to ministries, proposed policy changes, and other information important for understanding the country's fiscal situation. 2021 31
Enacted Budget The budget that has been approved by the legislature. 2021 72
Citizens Budget A simpler and less technical version of the government's Executive’s Budget Proposal or the Enacted Budget, designed to convey key information to the public. 2021 50
In-Year Reports Include information on actual revenues collected, actual expenditures made, and debt incurred at different intervals; issued quarterly or monthly. 2019 & 2020 55
Mid-Year Review A comprehensive update on the implementation of the budget as of the middle of the fiscal year; includes a review of economic assumptions and an updated forecast of budget outcomes. 2020 Not Produced
Year-End Report Describes the situation of the government's accounts at the end of the fiscal year and, ideally, an evaluation of the progress made toward achieving the budget's policy goals. 2019 Internal Use
Audit Report Issued by the supreme audit institution, this document examines the soundness and completeness of the government's year-end accounts. 2019 Not Produced

Burkina Faso’s transparency score of 31 in the OBS 2021 is largely the same as its score in 2019.

Recommendations

Burkina Faso should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

Publish the Year-End Report online in a timely manner.
Produce and publish the Mid-Year Review and Audit Report online in a timely manner.
Include information in the Executive's Budget Proposal on: the composition of total debt outstanding at the end of the budget year, the macroeconomic forecast upon which the budget projections are based, information that shows how new policy proposals affect expenditures and revenues, and updated expenditure and revenue estimates for the year preceding the budget year.
Improve the comprehensiveness of the Citizens Budget by establishing mechanisms to identify the public’s requirements for budget information, and by distributing it to the public via methods of dissemination beyond online publication.
Improve the comprehensiveness of the In-Year Reports by including information on actual expenditures by individual program, and information on the composition of the total actual debt outstanding during the budget year.
0 /100

The OBS assesses the formal opportunities offered to the public for meaningful participation in the different stages of the budget process. It examines the practices of the central government’s executive, the legislature, and the supreme audit institution (SAI) using 18 equally weighted indicators, aligned with the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency’s Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policies , and scores each country on a scale from 0 to 100.

Burkina Faso has a public participation score of 0 (out of 100).

Public participation in Burkina Faso compared to others

Global Average
14
Dem. Rep. of Congo
35
Benin
28
Cameroon
11
Mali
7
Chad
4
Côte d'Ivoire
4
Senegal
4
Burkina Faso
0
Niger
0
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

For more information, see here  for innovative public participation practices around the world.

Extent of opportunities for public participation in the budget process

0
/100
Formulation
(executive)
0
/100
Approval
(legislature)
0
/100
Implementation
(executive)
0
/100
Audit
(supreme audit institution)
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

To further strengthen public participation in the budget process, Burkina Faso's Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development should prioritize the following actions:

Pilot mechanisms to engage the public during budget formulation and to monitor budget implementation.
Actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, directly or through civil society organizations representing them.

Following the dissolution of Burkina Faso's National Assembly on 24 January 2022, it is urgent that it be reinstated in order to restore the normal checks and balances of Burkina Faso's budget process. After its reinstatement, the following actions should be prioritized to improve opportunities for public participation:

Allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during its hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval.
Allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during its hearings on the Audit Report.

Burkina Faso's Court of Audit should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in the budget process:

Establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist in developing its audit program and to contribute to relevant audit investigations.
44 /100

The OBS examines the role that legislatures and supreme audit institutions (SAIs) play in the budget process and the extent to which they provide oversight; each country is scored on a scale from 0 to 100 based on 18 equally weighted indicators. In addition, the survey collects supplementary information on independent fiscal institutions (see Box).

The legislature and supreme audit institution in Burkina Faso, together, provide limited oversight during the budget process, with a composite oversight score of 44 (out of 100). Taken individually, the extent of each institution’s oversight is shown below:

Legislative oversight

0
47
100
limited

Audit oversight

0
39
100
weak
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

When Burkina Faso's National Assembly was in session, it provided adequate oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and weak oversight during the implementation stage. Following its dissolution on 24 January 2022, it is urgent that the National Assembly be reinstated in order to restore the normal checks and balances of Burkina Faso's budget process. After its reinstatement, furthermore, the following actions should be prioritized to improve legislative oversight:

A legislative committee should examine in-year budget implementation and publish reports with their findings online.
In practice, ensure the legislature is consulted before the executive shifts funds specified in the Enacted Budget between administrative units; spends any unanticipated revenue; or reduces spending due to revenue shortfalls during the budget year.
A legislative committee should examine the Audit Report and publish a report with their findings online.

To strengthen independence and improve audit oversight by Burkina Faso's Court of Audit, the following actions are recommended:

Grant the Court of Audit full powers to undertake audits as it sees fit.
Ensure the Court of Audit has adequate funding to perform its duties, as determined by an independent body (e.g., the legislature or judiciary).
Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.

The emerging practice of establishing independent fiscal institutions

Burkina Faso does not have an independent fiscal institution (IFI). IFIs are increasingly recognized as valuable independent and nonpartisan information providers to the Executive and/or Parliament during the budget process.

*These indicators are *not* scored in the Open Budget Survey.

Methodology

  • Only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31 December 2020 were assessed in the OBS 2021.
     
  • The survey is based on a questionnaire completed in each country by an independent budget expert:
    Agnes Kabore; Simon Pierre Douamba
    Institut pour la Gouvernance et le Développement (IGD)
    Avenue Charles Bila KABORE, Ouaga 2000 – 11 BP 373 Ouagadougou CMS 11
    [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
  • To further strengthen the research, each country’s draft questionnaire is also reviewed by an anonymous independent expert.
Past reports
Years
Language
Country summary EN
PDF, en
Questionnaire EN
PDF, en
Country summary FR
PDF, fr
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR