| by Feizal
Samath
Courtesy: Business Times
( October 22,
2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) When the Business Times (BT) and its polling
partner, Research Consultancy Bureau (RCB) conducted a poll last July on this
year’s budget performance (so far) and expectations in the forthcoming 2013
budget, it was a unique attempt to check the pulse of the nation.
The findings
published in the July 29 edition of the BT saw respondents agree that the
Government was overspending; tax collections were low; ways to tackle the cost
of living were ineffective, and so on.
The day after
the poll was published, Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera called a meeting of
senior officials where a ‘people’s friendly’ budget process was discussed.
Informally officials were told that suggestions made in the BT-RCB should also
be considered.
That kind of
response is welcome and it’s hoped the budget would eventually consider
comments made in the poll.
In the same
breadth, the Treasury/Finance Ministry should also consider a wide range of
views reflected in what must be seen the first-ever citizens forum on the
budget.
This week NGO
group, the Active Citizenship for Development Network (ACDN) said it has
submitted to the President, who will present the budget next month as Finance
Minister, proposals from citizens across nine districts in Sri Lanka.
ACDN, which
organized these discussions, said the recommendations cover four sectors of
particular concern to these citizens groups and their larger community-
agriculture; fisheries; estates; and state education.
Details of the
proposals are published elsewhere in this edition and will appear with more
depth in next week’s development section in the BT.
The enthusiasm
in which people responded to the BT-RCB poll and also the ACDN initiative is a
progressive step towards a radical approach to budget-making: Talking to the
people.
Often
Treasury/Finance Ministry officials have face-to-face meetings or entertain
submissions for inclusion in the budget from focused groups like chambers,
trade associations and the like. Rarely, or not even thought, are people’s
representations.
In the BT-RCB,
respondents said submitting budget proposals was of no use because the
policymakers only listened to the elite and the intelligentsia – read chambers
and powerful business interests.
That has been
the case. However in fairness to the Government there is still no effective
mechanism to enlist the views of the people (even if there is a will on the
part of the authorities). Often marginalized societies are shut out in budget
making though their interests or needs are reflected in the budget (without
proper consultation however).
Recently a group
of NGOs working on issues concerning migrant workers was told by government
officials that while the government was interested in considering proposals
from migrant workers, one of the problems was the question of representation.
“When I brought your concerns of the need for migrant workers to be heard
before the budget, the Treasury Secretary was keen on their views but he
pointed out ‘whom do we talk to’,” an Economic Development Ministry official
told the group. What the Treasury Secretary implied was that while chambers and
sector interests like garments or plantations are organised, there is no
single, authoritative body representing migrant workers that the Treasury could
communicate with.
There lies the
problem, and this is where the ACDN initiative could serve as a platform for
the future where citizens’ groups, through an umbrella body, consult the people
and bring their issues, budget-wise, to the table and ensure their concerns are
also heard, along with business leaders and chambers.
The ACDN
statement said the problems faced by these groups (in nine districts) range
from the impact of drought on crops and low farm-gate prices for their produce;
the high cost of diesel and kerosene, sea-grabbing for tourism projects and
poaching by Indian trawlers; poor housing, education and social infrastructure
on estates and their landlessness; and underinvestment in state education from
pre-school through to tertiary-level.
In the BT-RCB
poll of the budget, the people called for focus on national development,
governance and accountability and the family unit.
Respondents also
favoured a firm resolve from the President that he would not tolerate
corruption and, mismanagement and a strong message in the budget that he would
not tolerate abuse of power by ruling party politicians and interference in the
legal system (police and the judiciary).
One hopes these
efforts by a newspaper and a citizens group to reflect the opinion and views of
the people in budget-making would trigger more similar initiatives across the
island.
A budget for the
masses, as the government is often prone to say ad nauseam, is incomplete if it
doesn’t consult and consider the views of the people. Even if it’s unpalatable
to the authorities.
 When the Business Times (BT) and its...){kind=link}