Report: Aid and budget transparency in Mozambique (2010)
Aid and budget transparency in Mozambique is insufficient. This is the overall conclusion in a report commisioned by the Informal Governance Group and Alliance 2015.
The report concludes that in the current context, it is impossible for the government, parliament or civil society to monitor clearly how government money is being spent. This because nearly half of all aid money coming to the government does not use government budgetary execution, reporting or procurement procedures and two-thirds does not use government audit procedures.
Additionally, the weight of aid in the budget contributes to the fact that there is more energy invested in the government - donor joint review process, where results are measured against donor agreed performance frameworks, than in facilitating parliamentary or citizen oversight. Finally, lack of predictability about aid in the future makes budgetary planning difficult.
The study therefore recommends a number of actions to improve the budget process through increased transparency. Donors need to provide more timely information about predictable aid and channel more of their aid through government systems. The government should publish revenue reports and clearly link the state budget to the medium-term expenditure framework. Parliamentarians also need to take a more proactive role in demanding accountability and transparency from the government and donors, and civil society organisations should increase their capacity to engage in budget monitoring by focusing on a few strategic areas.
The study was commissioned by the Informal Governance Group, a group of international NGOs working on governance and aid effectiveness issues in Mozambique, consisting of ActionAid, CAFOD, CARE, Concern, DED, HELPAGE, Helvetas, IBIS, MS, Oxfam Bélgica, Oxfam Austrália, e Trocaire, and the Alliance 2015, a partnership between 7 European Development NGOs, specifically German Agrarian Action, ACTED, CESVI, Concern Worldwide, HIVOS, IBIS, and People in Need.