The Role of Parliament in Budgeting

TRANSPARENT AND EFFECTIVE government budgeting is vital to democracy.

In Namibia, citizens and the parliament ought to play a particularly important role in shaping budget policy and overseeing its implementation.

The legal framework, however, that would confer upon the parliament the powers to have an active role in the budget process, does not exist in Namibia.

Oversight is an important function of any parliament.

It is through budget oversight that the parliament can demand transparency and accountability.

According to the Constitution, the National Assembly represents all Namibians, and therefore it is only appropriate that it ensures the budget reflects the nation’s needs matched to available resources.

Such an exercise requires detailed engagements, a potential which is currently wasted, some argue.

In 2009, former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe signed a bill into law which allows the parliament to amend the national budget.

The particular act also grants the parliament relatively unlimited power to make amendments to the fiscal framework, specific allocations, and tax policy. Most importantly, the parliament is given the responsibility to consider a range of factors in proposing amendments.

This law further provides for the establishment of a parliamentary budget office to provide independent and non-partisan research, expertise, and advice.

While the act contains several provisions that empower the parliament, it also created significant scope for public participation, particularly during the legislative phase of the budget.

South Africa’s budgetary process is worthy of emulating, because during the budget cycle, the National Assembly uses information from planning, budgeting, and reporting documentation submitted to it by government agencies, to draw up Budgetary Review and Recommendation Reports (BRRRs).

In fact, the minister of finance must take the BRRRs into account when developing the national budget for the next financial year.

Contrary to South Africa, the Namibian parliament has little to no influence on how the budget turns out.

The extent to which citizens and the National Assembly may influence the national purse for the financial year is dependent on two factors:

The first is political party representation.

Swapo has had a two-thirds majority since independence. The overwhelming number of backbenchers from the ruling party simply meant that oversight was non-existent.

The second factor is whether the minister of finance is willing to consider the input and contributions of opposition members during the budget debate.

This system is open to abuse.

Ideally, for someone who prides himself in accountability and transparency, a legacy for president Hage Geingob would be the introduction of a similar law, because in the absence of strong accountability measures, there is a risk that budgetary policies will reflect the wishes of the unelected elite.

Inna Hengari

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