-On Government Budget Performance, Implementation reporting
By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson I
The Open Government Partnership Secretariat with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and funding from the Governments of Luxemburg and the Republic of Korea has begins the capacity building of journalists to ensure responsive, transparent and open governance through an open legislature and track the government budget performance and implementation.
The project which kickoff Thursday April 18-19, 2024 is title: Space for political participation and advocacy for responsive governance enhanced. The project has a duration of six months with the expected outcome to ensure responsive, transparent and open governance through an open legislature.
Also, the initiative which is climaxing today in Monrovia, basically intended to develop and strengthen the capacity of journalists on budget formulation and performance with the focused of analyzing, the impact and implementation of the budget and its effectiveness and workability on the lives of the ordinary Liberian.
Furthermore, its aims at education participants on allocation allotment, and the Public Financial Management Law, International Monetary Funds and other international instruments for improve open governance and financial fiscal transparency and accountability.
During the program, participants were trained by the Ministry of Finance Budget Dissemination and Fiscal Transparency Department on budget formulation and performance. The initiative was also graced by several stakeholders from the civil society.
Giving the overview of the project, G. Ralph Jimmeh, head of the Secretariat that the project will be tracking performance, and allocation made to four strategies sectors that align with the government of Liberia ARREST agenda and how the allocation are performing over the one-year period.
‘’Under this project, basically, we are going to be looking at three areas, because the budget is a huge document, we will not be looking at every sector. The four sector are parts of the ARREST agenda of President Joseph Nyumah Boakai which include the rule of law, education, health as a subset under sanitation and tourism’’ he noted.
The head of Secretariat explained that the training will enables participant’s journalist’s work with the legislature going forward so that they can adequately track the different budget lines and their implementation.
‘’At the end of this, we expect that you as journalist will be able to tell between both the legislature and the place the monies going to be send. We are every grateful to have you and we look forward for your full participation. Not just sitting and knowing how the budget is being formulated and how its being implemented but to becomes the voice because you have the confidence of the citizens’’ he pointed out.
Mr. Jimmeh further indicated that because the legislature are the ones who are responsible for the budget, which is consider their in the Liberian setting, therefore, the project is designed to give media practitioners the understanding as to how the national budget is drafted and implemented.
‘’You and I are aware that the legislature is the first branch of government. And as that first branch of government, one of the thing we look out for is for it to have a very open, transparent and responsive legislature. Because as long as you have that branch of government being open and transparent, that legislature the growth and development of the country will be on the right trajectory’’ he noted.
