Zimbabwe
Open Budget Survey 2017
- Downloads:
- Country Summary Questionnaire
IBP considers countries that score above 60 on the Open Budget Index as providing sufficient budget information to enable the public to engage in budget discussions in an informed manner. IBP considers countries scoring above 60 on participation and oversight as providing adequate opportunities for the public to participate in the budget process and providing adequate oversight practices, respectively.
Transparency (Open Budget Index)
23
out of 100
Zimbabwe provides the public with minimal budget information.
How Has the Open Budget Index Score Changed Over Time?
Recommendations for Improving Transparency
Zimbabwe should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Continue publishing online and in a timely manner an Enacted Budget and In-Year Reports. Following the research period of the OBS 2017, both the Enacted Budget and In-Year Reports have been made publicly available.
- Produce and publish online in a timely manner a Year-End Report and a Citizens Budget.
- Ensure that the Executive’s Budget Proposal that is posted online matches the printed version.
- Increase the information on expenditure and revenue provided in the Executive’s Budget Proposal by including expenditure by functional classification and individual sources of tax and non-tax revenue.
Public Participation
9
out of 100
Zimbabwe provides few opportunities for the public to engage in the budget process.
Recommendations for Improving Participation
Zimbabwe should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in its budget process:
- Pilot mechanisms led by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development for members of the public and executive branch officials to exchange views on national budget matters during both the formulation of the national budget and the monitoring of its implementation. These mechanisms could build on innovations, such as participatory budgeting and social audits. For examples of such mechanisms, see fiscaltransparency.net/mechanisms.
- Hold legislative hearings on the Audit Report, during which members of the public or civil society organizations can testify.
Budget Oversight (by Legislature & Audit)
44
out of 100
The legislature and supreme audit institution in Zimbabwe provide limited oversight of the budget.
The legislature provides limited oversight during the budget cycle. This score reflects that the legislature provides weak oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and limited oversight during the implementation stage of the budget cycle.
The supreme audit institution provides limited budget oversight.
Recommendations for Improving Oversight
Zimbabwe should prioritize the following actions to make budget oversight more effective:
- Ensure legislative committees publish reports on their analysis of the Executive’s Budget Proposal online.
- Ensure a legislative committee publishes reports on in-year budget implementation online.
- Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.
- Publish the reports of the independent fiscal institution on macroeconomic and fiscal forecasts and on cost estimates of new policy proposals online.
Learn More
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