BIDPA advocates Citizens' Budget
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Unlike other countries in the region, among them South Africa, Namibia and Malawi, Botswana does not produce a Citizens' Budget, which is a non-technical presentation of the national budget published for the public to better understand government plans and make it accountable for its policies.
Speaking at the launch of the Open Budget Index (OBI) 2010 for Botswana in Phakalane yesterday, research fellow with BIDPA, Dr Gape Kaboyakgosi, said it was high time the government started producing the Citizens' Budget in the interests of transparency and accountability in public finance and budget making processes.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...