Community participation in budget making: A crucial step towards inclusive governance

Budget making is a critical aspect of governance that determines the allocation of resources and prioritisation of public needs.

A national budget is essentially a financial plan that outlines how a government intends to allocate its resources to achieve its economic and social goals. It is like a blueprint for how the government wants to spend its money to benefit its citizens.

The budget includes all the income the government expects to receive, usually through taxes and other measures, and how it plans to use that money to fund various public goods and services, such as infrastructure, education, healthcare, and defence. Think of it like a household budget, but on a much larger scale.

Just as you make decisions about how to allocate your income to cover your expenses, a government makes decisions about how to allocate its resources to meet the needs of its citizens.

In Zimbabwe, like many other developing countries, budget making has traditionally been a top-down process, with limited involvement of citizens and communities.

However, the importance of community participation in budget making cannot be overstated.

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This article argues that community participation is essential for ensuring that budgets reflect the needs and priorities of citizens, promoting transparency and accountability, and fostering inclusive governance.

Understanding the key components of a national budget

Revenue refers to the income the government expects to receive through taxes, fees, and other sources.

Expenditures are concerned with the money the government plans to spend on various goods and services, such as salaries, infrastructure, and social programmes.

There are also transfer payments which basically refers to the money the government gives to citizens or organisations without receiving any goods or services in return, such as social welfare payments or subsidies.

On the other hand budget surplus occurs when the government's revenue exceeds its expenditures whereas budget deficit happens when the government's expenditures exceed its revenue.

State of budget making in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's budget making process has historically been centralised, with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development holding significant control over resource allocation.

While the government has made efforts to increase transparency and citizen engagement, the process remains largely exclusive.

The 2023 national bdget, for instance, was criticised for lacking meaningful citizen participation and failing to address pressing social and economic challenges.

Benefits of community participation in budget making

According numerous studies that have been conducted by experts and institutions in Public Finance Management (PFM), community participation in budget making offers numerous benefits, including the following

1. Improved resource allocation: By involving citizens in the budget making process, resources can be allocated more effectively, reflecting the actual needs and priorities of communities. It is important for the government to ensure that the citizens are allowed to organically contribute to the resource allocation process
2. Increased transparency: Community participation promotes transparency, enabling citizens to track how resources are being utilised and holding leaders accountable.
3. Enhanced accountability: Citizen Involvement fosters accountability, ensuring that leaders are responsive to community needs and priorities. More critically, the communities will be better placed to question the decision made by their leaders if they are involved from the onset.
4. Inclusive governance: Community participation promotes inclusive governance, ensuring that marginalised groups have a voice in decision-making processes.
5. Better service delivery: By prioritising community needs, budgets can lead to improved service delivery and better outcomes in areas such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure.

In Zimbabwe, service delivery has faced challenges due to economic constraints, infrastructure deficits, and capacity issues.

Models for community participation in budget making

Several models can facilitate community participation in budget making, including:

1. Participatory budgeting (PB): A process where citizens directly participate in allocating a portion of the municipal or national budget. It is lauded for being a democratic process where citizens actively participate in allocating a portion of the municipal or national budget. The aim of PB is to increase citizen engagement and participation, improve transparency and accountability, ensure budget allocation reflects community needs and more critically foster inclusive decision-making
2. Citizen budget hearings: Public forums where citizens provide input on budget priorities in Zimbabwe are led and managed by Parliament and are very important in so far as they ensure that the voices of the citizen is captured organically.

Civic society can play a crucial role of ensuring that communities are sufficiently mobilised and are able to add value to the process through making valid and informed contributions

3. Budget committees: These are representative groups of citizens that provide oversight and input on budget decisions. Their primary goal is to ensure effective resource allocation, fiscal responsibility, and transparency
4. Social audit: Community-led assessments of public services and resource utilisation.

Challenges and opportunities in Zimbabwe

While community participation in budget making presents numerous benefits, several challenges persist in Zimbabwe, including limited institutional framework. It has been argued that the current legal framework is inadequate and significantly hinder meaningful citizen participation.

There are also immense capacity constraints. Research has shown over the years that there is limited capacity among citizens, civil society organisations, and government officials to engage effectively in budget making.

The challenge of capacity is also closely linked to resource constraints: Insufficient resources, including funding and expertise, hinder effective community participation. It must, however, be stated that, despite these challenges, opportunities exist to strengthen community participation in budget making, including:

1. Constitutional provisions: Zimbabwe's constitution guarantees citizen participation in governance.

The constitution of Zimbabwe plays a vital role in ensuring citizen participation in national processes. Section 13(2) of the constitution emphasizes the importance of broad-based participation, making it an indivisible right for citizens.

This provision empowers Zimbabweans to contribute to decision-making processes that shape their country.

2. Civil society engagement: Active civil society organizations can facilitate community participation, vigorous participation of citizens and organisations in promoting social, economic, and political change. In Zimbabwe, civic society engagement has played a crucial role in promoting democracy, human rights, and social justice.

Conclusion

Community participation in budget making is crucial for promoting inclusive governance, transparency, and accountability in Zimbabwe. By involving citizens in the budget making process, resources can be allocated more effectively, reflecting the needs and priorities of communities.

To achieve this, Zimbabwe must strengthen institutional frameworks, build capacity, and allocate sufficient resources.

Only through meaningful community participation can Zimbabwe ensure that budgets truly serve the needs of its citizens. There is need to establish participatory budgeting mechanisms (PBs): The government and local authorities must implement PB or similar models to ensure direct citizen participation. The strengthening of institutional frameworks includes development of laws and policies supporting community participation. Other recommendation the government and civil society includes the following

• Build capacity: Provide training and resources for citizens, civil society, and government officials.
• Increase transparency: Make budget information accessible and understandable.
• Foster partnerships: Collaborate with development partners to support community participation initiatives.

By prioritising community participation in budget making, the Zimbabwean government can take a significant step towards inclusive governance, ensuring that budgets truly serve the needs of its citizens.

*Samuel Wadzai is the executive director of the Vendors Initiative of Social and Economic Transformation.

These weekly articles are coordinated by Lovemore Kadenge, an independent consultant, managing consultant of Zawale Consultants (Private) Limited , past president of the Zimbabwe Economics Society and past president of the Chartered Governance & Accountancy Institute in Zimbabwe (CGI Zimbabwe). Email – kadenge.zes@gmail.com or Mobile No. +263 772 382 852