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Open Budget Index gives Trinidad and Tobago improved ranking in citizen access to budget information

For Release Upon Receipt - February 16, 2013

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – The Open Budget Survey 2012 found that Trinidad and Tobago increased its budget transparency score from 33 points out of 100 in 2010 to 38 points this year. Trinidad and Tobago has improved citizen access to budget information slightly by 5 points over the past four years, according to a major biennial report released 23rd January, 2012.  This increase means that Trinidad and Tobago’s citizens have a relative greater access to the information they need to participate in decision making and hold the government accountable for how it manages the public’s money than they previously did.

“It should be noted however, that despite the slight improvement in the Open Budget Score ranking Trinidad and Tobago higher than Dominican Republic and Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago still falls within the category of countries that provide minimal information to the public in its budget documents throughout the year,” said Malini Maharaj, Research Associate of The Sustainable Economic Development Unit, UWI, which conducted the research for its country. The results of the Open Budget Index will be discussed in a Seminar to be held at the Faculty of Social Sciences Lounge today, March 72013 at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.

The International Budget Partnership released the Open Budget Survey 2012, the only independent, comparative, regular measure of budget transparency and accountability around the world.  Produced every two years by independent experts, the report found that 77 of the 100 countries assessed – these 77 countries are home to half the world’s population – fail to meet basic standards of transparency. This matters because budgets are the main tool governments use to set policies for raising and spending public funds, which promote development and meet the needs of the country’s people. The impact of open and accountable public finance on development within countries is particularly important as the international community begins to think about the next set of Millennium Development Goals.

The Open Budget Survey uses internationally recognized criteria to give each country a transparency score on a 100-point scale called the Open Budget Index. The OBI 2012 scores are very low. The average score among the 100 countries studied is just 43. High scorers for the 2012 edition include New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France and Norway, while the worst performers include Saudi Arabia and Benin.

“Budget decisions and processes are critical to addressing many of the world’s most pressing problems,” commented Warren Krafchik, Director of the International Budget Partnership. “The success of efforts like those to reduce maternal mortality, eliminate persistent poverty, provide all children with access to high-quality education, and address the impact of climate change, amongst others, hinges on whether countries make the right budget choices and whether those decisions are implemented effectively. This is more than an abstract governance issue; it’s about the quality of life for millions of people around the world.”

The average Open Budget Index (OBI) scores for the 40 countries that have comparable data for all four rounds of the Survey has gone from 47 in 2006 to 57 in 2012, with nearly all regions of the world showing improvements. This increase in the average includes substantial improvement in a number of individual countries, including Trinidad and Tobago. For instance, Honduras (whose OBI score rose from 11 in 2010 to 53 in 2012), Afghanistan (whose score jumped from 8 in 2008 to 59 in 2012) and the countries of Francophone West Africa (whose scores doubled from 2010) show that significant progress is possible. These examples show how the commitment of governments – accompanied by other favourable factors such as donor interventions, international standards and civil society pressures – can yield significant and rapid improvements in budget transparency.

While Trinidad and Tobago and those above have taken significant steps to improve, this progress must continue and other nations must take concerted action to improve. “At the current slow rate of progress it will take to at least 2030 for all countries to reach a reasonable level of budget transparency. This could mean a generation of wasted resources and missed opportunities,” commented Krafchik. “A lack of transparent data for budget reporting makes it far more difficult to monitor progress against the current and next generation of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. As world leaders begin to think about the next set of goals, with an expected completion date of 2030, they should ensure that fiscal transparency and participation are at their heart.

“Reforms can be accomplished at little to no financial cost and can benefit billions of people. Good budget practices have been identified and standards have been set, substantial technical assistance is available, and reforms can be accomplished at minimal costs. The incentives to improve are there – all that is typically missing, in many individual governments, is the political will to act. That must change.”

The complete Open Budget Survey 2012, including detailed analysis, methodology, and recommendations, can be found online at www.internationalbudget.org.

For further information, please contact Malini Maharaj at 662-2002 Ext 82018 or via email at Malini_maharaj@hotmail.com.

 

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Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with 45 physical site locations across the region, serving 16 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Food & Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

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