Public Participation in the Budget (SYC0001)

What is the public problem that the commitment will address?
In Seychelles, there are about three hundred organisations which can be classified as Civil Society Organisations (CSO). Many of these active organisations are accredited members CEPS – the platform for civil society organizations in Seychelles. CEPS was created on the 8th November 2014 after the dissolution of LUNGOS, and it was subsequently added to the portfolio of the Office of the Vice President. CEPS acts as an interface with state and non-state actors nationally and internationally, provides training and capacity development for CSOs, and enables civil society representation on national boards.

However, there is still scope for increased civil society participation, especially in the budget process, and the policy and legislative review processe
In 2013, the Government started Programme and Performance Based Budgeting (PPBB). The PPBB approach is aimed at improving the Government’s ability to plan, prioritise, allocate, manage, control, and report on public funds and the achievement of governmental objectives. MoFTIEP engages mainly with the MDAs in the budgeting process; there is currently no formal mechanism for civil society engagement. To address this gap, a new framework for discussion between Government and civil society needs to be developed.

Civil society engagement with regards to the policy making and legislative processes also requires strengthening. It is therefore important to work on a framework for this engagement, which will include, amongst others, a review of the Multi Stakeholder Group Act under the EITI, vis a vis the Access to Information Act, and a review of the Registration of Association Act.
There will also be a need for training for civil society in relation to policy and legislation review.

What is the commitment?
The commitment entails the strengthening of engagement between Civil Society and Government MDAs in the budget process, as well as the legal and policy review processes, to ensure more active public participation in decision making.

How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem?
Civil Society, in all its forms, will be a key stakeholder for engagement throughout the budget process and the legal and policy review process.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?
This commitment is relevant to the OGP values of transparency and public participation.

This commitment will not only involve the public through the civil engagement platform in the budget process, it will also improve the quality of key output documents to ensure these are understandable by a wider audience.

Since the commitment is relevant to civic participation, it will create and improve opportunities including capabilities for the public to inform or influence decisions.

Additional information
The commitments in the NAP are in line with Seychelles’ Vision 2033 and the first National Development Strategy (NDS). Implementation of the Commitment will be monitored by the RBM Committee.

1. Strengthening public participation in the budget process

The commitment entails the strengthening of engagement between Civil Society and Government MDAs in the budget process, as well as the legal and policy review processes, to ensure more active public participation in decision making.

Main Objective

Civil Society, in all its forms, will be a key stakeholder for engagement throughout the budget process and the legal and policy review process

Milestones

• MOFTIEP to review the budget calendar to include engagement with the Citizens Engagement Platform Seychelles (CEPS) and other relevant CSOs.
• MOFTIEP to engage with CEPS and other relevant CSOs in the Budget Process according to the amended budget calendar.
• Training/sensitization programmes provided to CSOs on matters of policy and legal instruments (new laws etc.) organized jointly between GOS and CEPS.

Editorial note: For the complete text of this commitment, please see Seychelles' action plan at https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/seychelles-action-plan-2019-2021/.

Commitment analysis

A country's national budget plays a crucial role in citizen's lives and overall socio-economic well-being. This makes it imperative that all citizens understand the budget and become well versed in scrutinising it. Seychelles has signed, though not ratified, treaties within which the right to public participation is contained such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the African Charter on Peoples and Human Rights. [1] This commitment seeks to further institutionalise public participation within the budget process.

Seychelles' budget process currently unfolds in three main stages: [2] (i) the strategic phase, wherein the Portfolio Medium-Term Expenditure Strategy (PoMTES) is developed; (ii) the budget planning phase, wherein budget proposals are developed, followed by budget review meetings before the budget review document is submitted to the National Assembly, the Cabinet and the President for approval; and (iii) the final programme performance-based budgeting (PPBB) statement and presentation phase, in which government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) finalise their draft PPBB statements in preparation to submit to the Parliament. [3] The final budget is gazetted once the PPBB statements are submitted to the Ministry of Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Planning before the release of various budget documents. [4]

Seychelles' current reforms target four main areas: planning, budgeting, monitoring & evaluation, and performance management. More specifically, they include the introduction and adoption of PPBB from 2013 and the establishment of the performance monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) system from 2016. [5] By 2019, these interventions were stated to have cumulatively improved the budgeting process in terms of skills and behaviour, information and monitoring. [6] Seychelles has however experienced various budget challenges, including misaligned or inappropriate budget allocations, inability to demonstrate budget impact and limited budget information, which results in ineffective oversight by the Cabinet and National Assembly. [7] The Offices of the President and Vice President have similarly identified a lack of compliance with appropriate procedures for budget allocations along with Cabinet submissions and poor record management as core challenges. [8] Additionally, the National Assembly exhibits limitations in budgeting skills, whereas the Office of Auditor General experiences a variety of capacity constraints. [9]

Transparency, public participation, and budget oversight have been described as three core principles and measures of budget accountability. [10] The current NAP acknowledges the limited scope of civil society involvement in the budgeting process and in policy and legislative review processes. [11] Government MDAs remain the sole stakeholders the MOFTIEP meaningfully engages, despite Seychelles having committed to greater engagement of civil society in the budgeting process as early as 2015. [12] Seychelles has therefore taken various steps to address these problems by conducting capacity-building workshops and ensuring stakeholders understand their role in the budgeting process. [13] For instance, provisions have been made for views on the budget to be submitted through a dedicated online platform that the MOFTIEP would host. These submissions would then be published to inform public debate prior to the budget address. [14] The CEPS was also invited to provide inputs on the process in 2016. These invitations are however not consistently extended. [15] In 2019, the CEPS expressed dissatisfaction over its inputs not being taken into consideration despite numerous engagements with government. Additionally, it was not consulted on all budget elements or topics it considered pertinent. [16] Overall public participation is described as narrow. Presently, civil society is provided with limited opportunities to engage, and their inputs are often requested retrospectively after the budget address has already been given. [17] It is also noted that the CEPSs is viewed as having a vested interest in participating in the budget process given that it is funded by the government. [18]

There is now an increased demand for greater civic participation, with civil society seeking to be more engaged in budget debates and involved in the decision-making and evaluation of the budget. [19] While there has been some progress, the public and some parliamentarians remain largely unaware of the budgeting process, and any efforts made so far on the government's part have not been institutionalised, leading to gains being lost once certain allies depart from the MOFTIEP. [20] Ministry officials also feel that this commitment will therefore facilitate and accelerate the processes that have begun, as greater participation is needed in building a more holistic assessment of the PPBB reforms effectiveness. [21]

The commitment is verifiable but could be strengthened by naming the specific nature of the engagement mechanisms to be set up and how these will overcome barriers to engagement. The commitment would also benefit from specifying how civil society inputs will be taken into account. The frequency of engagement or levels of engagement also remain unclear. Typically, civil society organisations (CSOs) face challenges when attempting to engage at the beginning of the budget cycle. [22] Clarity on which stage of the budgeting process the engagement will come into play would therefore be welcome. Furthermore, because CSOs involved in budget advocacy are encouraged to develop technical skills and competencies in budgeting work, advocacy and communication, research, monitoring and evaluation to improve effectiveness of their participation, [23] there should also be more clarity on the training that would be provided to civil society representatives. There is also an indication within the NAP that developing a framework for engagement would require a review of the Multi-stakeholder Group Act in relation to its alignment with the Access to Information Act and the Registration of Association Act. [24] However, no milestones that address this.

That said, the deliverables are relevant to the commitment's objective and are likely to improve participation in the budgeting process and set grounds for more consistency. Civil society will gain access to budget information and be able to cascade this to the constituencies they serve, although the lack of specificity makes it difficult to ascertain whether the engagement will be meaningful or effective. Structured public participation contributes to greater legitimacy and government responsiveness. [25] While opportunity has been provided for civil society to make its contributions, it is unclear what mechanisms will be in place to ensure that its contributions will truly influence the process. [26] Consideration should be given to the bureaucratic culture that has largely operated on the basis of no or minimal participation and that it may not welcome contributions or know how to incorporate them, especially if they are more innovative in nature. [27] As such, this commitment holds minor potential impact to open up government processes.

Similarly, the Open Budget Survey 2019 indicates that although some governments may be providing budget information or scoring high on budget transparency, they often fall short at establishing a participatory process. Participation tends to be catered to during the budget formulation and approval stages but declines through the implementation and audit phases [28]—a gap that is reflected in this commitment.

When designing public participation processes, it is important to have multiple platforms of engagement and processes that capture citizen feedback, insights, preferences and priorities in an open and inclusive manner to allow for the inclusion of evidence from varied sources that incorporate learning and reflection and embody fairness and equality and level the playing field. [29] These qualities are not particularly evident in this commitment. The MOFTIEP has however stated that it will take steps to incorporate views from civil society members that are not members of the CEPS [30] by broadening the participation opportunities to the wider public, especially marginalised groups. [31]

Next steps

The World Bank noted in 2017 that a shift was required from building the capacity of a few elite individuals towards an approach that encompasses the entire population. Often public participation processes are framed as a singular, unidirectional effort to collect citizen views without an effort by governments to respond to feedback provided. Few countries publicise inputs received from the public, and even fewer publicise a documented response to what citizens raised. The state should therefore consider how to encourage citizens to engage with budget oversight processes, including how to engage with audit institutions and their outputs and with legislative monitoring and oversight. [32] The Ministry of Finance should consider publishing a popular version of the budget in beginning the journey towards sensitising civil society and the public at large. [33] Similarly, the Ministry of Finance should look to expanding platforms for engagement and put in place the necessary feedback mechanisms.

Future NAPs could aim to involve civil society in budget performance assessments that only the National Assembly currently undertakes. Commitments could also engage civil society in providing feedback on the outcomes achieved and performance indicators reported on by various entities. [34] Civil society could also partner with the auditor general in the budget audit process. In regard to capacity building, in addition to general information on the budget process, it may be useful to make training of civil society a priority on the basis of a needs assessment that can inform the development of a training programme. [35] Lastly, Seychelles is currently not included in the Open Budget Survey, which would be a useful methodology to adopt and to use to assess progress in this respect.

Commitment 1. Strengthening public participation in the budget process

 Complete:

This commitment aimed to create opportunities for civil society to engage with ministries, departments, and agencies in the budget process as well as legal and policy review processes. ^[23] It was designed against a backdrop of government plans to enhance civil society engagement from as far back as 2015 under the Programme Performance Based Budgeting (PPBB). ^[24] Despite this aim, the government had not established a formal mechanism for civil society engagement, which remained limited and tended to be sought retrospectively after the budget had been given. ^[25]

The Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Trade (MoFTIEP) committed to review the budget calendar and include engagement with CEPS and CSOs; engage with CEPS and CSOs in line with an amended budget calendar; and work with CEPS to provide civil society training and sensitization programs on policy and legal instruments. ^[26]

MoFTIEP amended the budget calendar to include meetings with CEPS and business associations (milestones 1 and 2). According to the 2021 budget calendar provided by MoFTIEP, the Ministry of Finance met with CEPS and business associations during the strategic planning and presentation phases of budget preparation. This is an improvement from the calendar for the 2020 budget, which did not explicitly include moments for consultation with non-government stakeholders. [27] MoFTIEP documents indicate that the Ministry intends to continue consulting CEPS and business associations in forthcoming budgets and economic planning. [28]

CEPS organized community and online consultations that included representatives from the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank to discuss the public’s budget priorities. In-person consultations were limited to 30 attendees due to the pandemic. CEPS then communicated this input to MoFTIEP during the two scheduled meetings. CEO of CEPS Alvin Laurence stated that CEPS produced reports following consultations with the government and the public. However, the IRM researcher did not receive documented evidence of these reports. Laurence notes that CEPS also provided feedback to the government on Results Based Management reforms undertaken with the International Monetary Fund. ^[29]

Laurence noted that there is currently no process in place for the ministry to directly respond to budget suggestions received from civil society or the public. However, the Minister of Finance responds generally to comments received through public statements following budget debates. Laurence stated that establishing a direct means for the government to respond to budget concerns remains an area for opportunity. Laurence shared that there is some evidence of civil society influencing the government’s budget decisions. For example, the government amended plans to raise bus fares on Sundays and holidays in response to CEPS’ input last year. ^[30]

CEPS worked with the Central Bank of Seychelles and Register General to provide some training to CSOs on policy and legal instruments (milestone 3). CEPS and the government convened sessions on topics such as CSO roles and responsibilities under the Registration Act and increasing the age of pension funds. ^[31] However, the COVID-19 pandemic and change in government prevented all planned trainings from taking place. [32] Moreover, sensitizations that took place did not include information and capacity building related to CSOs’ participation in budget preparation. Therefore, these trainings did not directly contribute to the commitment’s overall policy objective. Laurence noted that CEPS’ engagement with the Ministry of Finance improved over the implementation period. However, CEPS’ quarterly meetings with the Office of the Vice President stopped after the change in government, resulting in less engagement with the government on national matters outside the Ministry of Finance. [33]

The Ministry of Finance and CEPS completed all three milestones foreseen in this commitment. However, these activities represent modest steps toward greater civic participation in the budget process. [34] MoFTIEP designated and conducted two meetings with CEPS and business associations during development of the 2021 budget. At these meetings, CEPS communicated budget priorities gathered from the community. Resultantly, this commitment made incremental steps toward greater civic participation in preparation of the national budget and economic planning documents.

Several factors limited this commitment’s open government results. These include the fact that the commitment was designed to include modestly ambitious commitments as well as challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and change in government. Foremost, direct participation in the budget process was limited to CEPS and three business associations. Moreover, the consultation process does not yet include a mechanism for the Ministry of Finance to inform civil society or the public on how their input influenced the final budget. Finally, while some CSO sensitizations took place on related issues, these meetings did not strengthen CSOs’ ability to participate in the budget process.

Recommendations:

· The government should allocate the funding and human resources necessary for opening up the budget process.

· MoFTIEP should establish a structured feedback mechanism system with citizens and civil society. This will help track the effectiveness of citizen engagement in the budget and legislative processes. It will also help evaluate the extent to which feedback/input from the public influences the final budget and legislative decisions.

· MoFTIEP and CEPS should conduct civil society training on opportunities to engage in the budget process. Trainings could also provide a forum in which civil society is consulted on how to design participation and communication channels with MoFTIEP.

· MoFTIEP and CEPS should publicly document meetings, trainings, consultations, and assessments to facilitate monitoring implementation of this reform.