Namibia Scores 55 On Open Budget Index

The Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) recently released the Open Budget Index (OBI) scores from the Open Budget Survey that was carried out in 2012. The aim of this international survey is to provide an index value based on the transparency and accountability of the Budget and its due process. Namibia this year has scored 55 out of 100 which is an improvement from the previous score of 53 in 2010.

Speaking at a media briefing, the executive director of IPPR Mr Graham Hopwood gave an overview of the survey findings. He explained that the survey is a series of 125 questions which are meant to capture the availability of budget related information and also whether such material is accessible to the general public. He stated that the survey is based on eight key documents which outlay government efforts in the budgetary process. Out of the eight key required documents, three are currently not produced within Namibia. Despite this current setback, he stated that Namibia is moving in the right direction with significant improvements in the process. "When we initially started out most ministries were apprehensive when it came to releasing documents and commenting on the budget process. This has changed over the years with more involvement from government officials." Hopwood further attributed the improvement in Namibia's ranking to the introduction of a citizens budget. This is a simplified version of the budget which is made accessible to the general populace.

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