Parliament and the Budgetary Process, Including from a Gender Perspective
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Parliament and the Budgetary Process, Including from a Gender Perspective Regional Seminar for Parliaments of South-West Asia 26 to 28 May 2003, Colombo (Sri Lanka) Foreword In 2000, the vast majority of governments around the world acclaimed and subscribed once again to the values of freedom, equality and tolerance reaffirmed in the Millennium Declaration, as well as to its key objectives, among which is the promotion of human rights and of democracy and good governance. In doing so, they committed to attaining the Millennium Development Goals. Eradicating poverty, providing universal primary education, promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and combating HIV/AIDS are but some of these goals. Gender mainstreaming is advocated in all of them. Governments have many tools at their disposal to achieve those goals, and one of the most important and effective of those tools is the annual budget. By reflecting a government's policies and committing the means and resources to implement those policies, budgets provide a comprehensive statement of the government’s priorities. Recognising the importance of budgets, many governments undertook to incorporate “a gender perspective into the design, development, adoption and execution of all budgetary processes as appropriate in order to promote equitable, effective and appropriate resource allocation and establish adequate budgetary allocations to support gender equality and development programmes that enhance women’s empowerment”, as outlined in the Beijing Platform for Action. Oversight of the budgetary process provides an excellent opportunity to test such government commitments. Parliament, as a country's foremost representative institution, has a prominent role to play in the budgetary process. It is within its purview to scrutinise and evaluate budget proposals to ensure that they adequately reflect the government’s implementation of its commitment to gender mainstreaming. Parliament also must approve the budget before it can become law. The budget debate therefore is a key parliamentary activity and it offers a crucial opportunity for parliament to promote the interests of those it represents. Parliamentary oversight of the budget also ensures transparency and helps promote good governance and democracy. Ever since the first, ground-breaking seminar organised in 2000 in Nairobi (Kenya) on the subject of Parliament and the Budgetary Process, including from a Gender Perspective, the Inter-Parliamentary Union has worked unsparingly to provide members of parliament and parliamentary staff in different regions of the world with the tools necessary to ensure that gender equality is duly taken into account in national policies and reflected in national budgets. While continuing to focus on the gender dimension of the budgetary process, the seminars organised by the IPU in partnership with organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the World Bank Institute, have also been concerned with other aspects of the process insofar as they can be used to reinforce the promotion of equality between men and women. The seminar that is the subject of this publication, the fourth in the series of seminars, was organised at the invitation of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and in partnership with the World Bank Institute, and brought together members of parliament and parliamentary staff from that region. The seminar provided participants with the opportunity to exchange views and experiences with their counterparts. This publication documents the speeches and presentations made during the seminar. Participants considered a number of questions, ranging from the respective roles of government and parliament in the budgetary process, to the meaning of a gender perspective in the budget, to how to conduct a gender impact analysis of the budget. The role of the auditor general’s office and of parliamentary committees - such as public finance and audit committees - was debated in great detail. Accountability and transparency in the budgetary process were also discussed at length, with regard to ensuring not only that governmental policies contained a gender dimension, but also that they were adequately implemented. The experience acquired over the years has proven that these seminars provide a valuable opportunity for exchanging views and sharing country- and region-specific practices, and that reports such as this one offer a practical resource tool for all interested parties. A Handbook for Parliamentarians on “Parliament, the Budget and Gender”, which builds on the material and experience gleaned from these seminars, has recently been published by the IPU. The IPU would like to express its appreciation and thanks to the World Bank Institute for its support in the organisation of the Colombo seminar and would like to commend the Parliament of Sri Lanka for its efficiency and generous hospitality, which greatly contributed to the event’s success. A special tribute should also be paid to the resource persons for their invaluable intellectual contribution to the proceedings. Anders B. Johnsson Secretary General Table of contents Page Inaugural Ceremony Hon. Joseph Michael Perera, Speaker of Parliament .......................................................................... 7 Mr. Anders B. Johnsson, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union ................................. 9 Mr. Peter Harrold, Country Director, World Bank, Sri Lanka ............................................................... 11 Work Programme ........................................................................................................................ 13 Officials of the Seminar .............................................................................................................. 14 General Report of the Seminar .................................................................................................. 15 General introduction to the budgetary process, reviewing the variety of national approaches and processes Hon. K. N. Choksy, Minister of Finance, Sri Lanka .............................................................................. 25 Mr. Joachim Wehner, Budget Analyst .................................................................................................. 27 The budget: purpose, composition and terminology Mr. Joachim Wehner, Budget Analyst................................................................................................... 30 Mr. Paul East, former MP, New Zealand .............................................................................................. 33 A gender perspective to the budget: what does it mean? Ms. Winnie Byanyima, MP, Uganda...................................................................................................... 35 The respective roles of government and parliament in the budgetary process Mr. Paul East, former MP, New Zealand............................................................................................... 37 Accountability and transparency in the budgetary process: parliamentary oversight of the budget Mr. Rick Stapenhurst, Senior Public Management Specialist, Governance Regulation and Finance Division, World Bank Institute................................................................................................ 40 Mr. Joachim Wehner, Budget Analyst................................................................................................... 44 Accountability and transparency in the budgetary process: the national audit and outreach to society Mr. Rick Stapenhurst, Senior Public Management Specialist, Governance Regulation and Finance Division, World Bank Institute................................................................................................ 47 Mr. Joachim Wehner, Budget Analyst................................................................................................... 50 Gender impact analysis of the budget Dr. Patricia Alailima, Director General, Department of National Planning, Ministry of Policy Development and Implementation, Sri Lanka..................................................................................... 53 Ms. Winnie Byanyima, MP, Uganda...................................................................................................... 57 Mechanisms and methods for developing a gender-sensitive budget Ms. Winnie Byanyima, MP, Uganda...................................................................................................... 60 Closing Ceremony Mr. Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Parliament of Sri Lanka........................................................................................................................ 63 List of Participants ...................................................................................................................... 65 Inaugural Ceremony Mr. Anders B. Johnsson, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Mr. Peter Harrold, Country Director, World Bank, Sri Lanka Hon. Joseph Perera, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Hon. K.N. Choksy, Minister of Finance, Sri Lanka Mr. Peter Harrold, Country Director, World Bank, Sri Lanka Hon. K.N. Choksy, Minister of Finance, Sri Lanka Hon. Joseph Perera, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Mr. Anders B. Johnsson, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Mrs. Priyanee Wijesekera, Acting Secretary General of the Parliament