The University of Hull Moving Towards Transparency And
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THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL MOVING TOWARDS TRANSPARENCY AND PARTICIPATION IN THE BUDGETARY PROCESS A Case Study of Sierra Leone Submitted to Department of Politics and International Studies University of Hull In Partial fulfilment for the Degree of PhD KAIFALA MARAH June 2009 DEDICATION Dedicated to N’na – she who toiled in the fields of motherhood But never within the dictates of the divine will Wiped off the sweat from her brow – the labour of eve But the multitudes of men have, shall and will always By proxy, harvest the blooming fields. And dedicated also To this age-race of men who confuse complacency with development Ah yes - the multitudes who march in a delusion empowered by drumless songs to the grave That grave Of ignorance Of hunger Of thirst, and Of poverty of the mind And yonder, beyond the hills of strange-familiarities The tidings of the cup is brought to all To drink To be sober To be enlightened, and To reverse the tide of complacency But they fail to ask: Where is the torch and spirit to transform dreams? 1 ACKNOWLEDGENMENTS This work has been part of a personal journey into the world of research and learning. I have come to appreciate that poverty and war are outcomes of failed policies and leadership – or perhaps they are an imprint of the collective poverty of the mindset of a nation. The success of this project is not the making of a single mind, but an outcome of the inputs of several brains and personalities who contributed to the weaving process. First and foremost, my sincere thanks and gratitude goes to the eminent Professor The Lord Norton of Louth (Member of the House of Lords of the British Houses of Parliament and Head of Department of Politics and International Studies of the University of Hull, United Kingdom), for his extensive academic guidance and advice as my supervisor. By working with him during these few years, I took away the values of paying attention to details, in depth analysis and patience, which I have realised are a force-multiplier in life. I also thank Dr Jose Magone of the same Department as an additional supervisor of the project. I also extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation to a long list of colleagues in the Governance and Institutional Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, for their collective and individual contributions. A similar gratitude is extended to my friends and officials in the Ministry of Finance in Sierra Leone, including other institutions such as the Parliament and the civil society, for their invaluable inputs, clarifications they made and the interviews they granted. A special thank you goes to the Breslin family of Delmar, New York: Senator Neil D. Breslin (Chief), his spouse, Ellen and the entire family for opening the doors of opportunity in both the academic and professional worlds to me. I owe it most to Kate Breslin, who has been my special angel for a number of years. To my family, both in Sierra Leone and abroad, thank you for your endless support. I owe it to Josephine, my spouse for her guidance and invaluable support both in terms of providing resources and encouragement. A big thank you goes to our kids for helping me to master the art of striking a balance between work and family life. Thank you, Josephine for making the project a success. And, to God be the Glory. 2 CONTENT DEDICATION..........................................................................................................................................1 ACKNOWLEDGENMENTS..................................................................................................................2 CONTENT................................................................................................................................................3 PART ONE ...............................................................................................................................................8 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................8 1.1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................8 1.2 BUDGET TRANSPARENCY AND PARTICIPATION.......................................................9 1.2.1 Significance of budget transparency and participation ...........................................................9 1.2.2 The International Level ........................................................................................................10 1.2.3 Regional and country levels..................................................................................................12 1.3 THE SIERRA LEONE SCENARIO ....................................................................................14 1.4 THE STUDY OBJECTIVES................................................................................................15 1.5 RESEARCH STATEMENT.................................................................................................17 1.6 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY..................................................................................19 1.6.1 Study Period .........................................................................................................................21 1.7 STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH ..................................................................................22 1.7.1 Limitation of scope...............................................................................................................25 CHAPTER TWO ...................................................................................................................................26 CHAPTER TWO: ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK...........................................................................26 2.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................26 2.2 DEFINITION OF BUDGET ................................................................................................27 2.3 MEDIUM TERM EXPENDITURE FRAMEWORK (MTEF)............................................28 2.4 PHASES OF THE BUDGETARY PROCESS.....................................................................29 2.4.1 Budget Drafting....................................................................................................................29 2.4.2 Challenges ............................................................................................................................ 31 2.4.3 Legislation............................................................................................................................ 33 2.4.4 Constraints of Parliaments....................................................................................................35 2.4.5 Budget Implementation ........................................................................................................38 2.4.6 The debate on the role of Parliaments ..................................................................................40 2.4.7 Other challenges...................................................................................................................41 2.4.8 Reporting and Audit (Establishing Value for Money)..........................................................42 2.4.9 Financial Scrutiny and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) ...........................................43 2.4.10 Challenges facing Effective Scrutiny ...................................................................................44 2.5 DEFINING THE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK ..................................................................47 2.6 OECD BEST PRACTICE FOR BUDGET TRANSPARENCY...........................................48 2.7 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................49 CHAPTER THREE ...............................................................................................................................51 CHAPTER THREE: HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF SIERRA LEONE............................51 3.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................51 3.2 POLITICS ............................................................................................................................52 3.2.1 Political Parties.....................................................................................................................54 3.2.2 Government.......................................................................................................................... 60 3.3 THE ECONOMY .................................................................................................................60 3.3.1 Agriculture and Mining ........................................................................................................60 3.3.2 Manufacturing ...................................................................................................................... 62 3.3.3 Infrastructure and the Environment......................................................................................63 3.4 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENTS.........................................................................63 3.5 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................64 CHAPTER FOUR..................................................................................................................................67