Budgeting for Children in Tanzania. A guide for civil society organisations

Transcription

1 Budgeting for Children in Tanzania A guide for civil society organisations

2 Author Dr. Daniel Yohane Ngowi Contributions, input and review UNICEF: Christina Popivanova, Jacqueline Namfua, Rania Al-Baroudi, Cristina Praz Save the Children: Mussa Mgata Editor Alison Raphael Graphic Design Petra Balenovic/Geomark Development Ltd. Cover photos Front cover top left to right: Julie Pudlowski, Julie Pudlowski, Sala Lewis, Shehzad Noorani, bottom photo: Shehzad Noorani. Back cover top left to right: Sala Lewis, Julie Pudlowski, Giacomo Pirozzi, Julie Pudlowski. UNICEF December 2012

3 Budgeting for Children in Tanzania A guide for civil society organisations

4 UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani 4 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

5 Contents Introduction 2 WHY budget for children? 3 The Government budget 4 The budget process 5 Major actors in the budget process 6 Tanzania mainland budget 7 Zanzibar Budget 8 Take action 9 Engaging parliamentarians to influence budgets for children 10 Engaging with media to influence budgets for children 11 ANNEXES 1 Glossary of key terms 2 Summary of national budget 3 Summary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 4 Where to access more information 12 REFERENCES

6 children make up about 51 per cent of Tanzania s population. UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani 2 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

7 1 Introduction This guide is intended as a reference tool to support the advocacy work of civil society organisations (CSOs) in the budgetary process, to ensure that children s priorities are well reflected in Tanzania s national budgets. Its main objective is to provide useful information and strategies for influencing the budget allocation process with respect to children in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. The guide advocates in favour of child-sensitive planning and budgeting to promote child rights-based policy formulation. As described in sections 9 and 10, the media and Parliament are important allies in this process; by demanding greater transparency and more participation, they can facilitate involvement by citizens and civil society organisations in budget planning and execution. The guide is part of efforts by the Children s Agenda 1 to enhance child-friendly budget analysis and provide support to its members and other CSOs. It should be used in conjunction with other publications, including: A Handbook on Child Participation in Parliament and Understanding the Budget Process in Tanzania: A Civil Society Guide (see details and other readings in Annex 4). The guide can also be used as a tool to examine the budget from a child-rights perspective by all stakeholders interested in fostering the rights of children. The guide can also be used as a tool to examine the budget from a child-rights perspective by all stakeholders interested in fostering the rights of children. 1 The Children s Agenda (CA) is a coalition of organizations, government and other partners who are committed advocates for child rights in Tanzania. A guide for civil society organisations 1

8 Budgeting for children means ensuring that the national budget reflects child-friendly macroeconomic and social policies. UNICEF/Julie Pudlowski 2 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

9 2 Why budget for children? The 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), both endorsed by Tanzania, oblige countries to invest resources in children. Article 4 of the CRC and Article 5 of the ACRWC, in particular, require governments to invest the maximum extent of available resources to realise the well-being of children. Adequate resources are also needed to effectively implement Tanzania s Child Development Policy (1996), the Law on the Child Act (2009), the 2011 Children s Act for Zanzibar, and other child-related sectoral policies found in the National Strategies for Growth and Reduction of Poverty MKUKUTA in Tanzania mainland and MKUZA in Zanzibar. Why do we need to lobby for budgeting for children? First, although children make up a large proportion (about 51 per cent) of Tanzania s population, they are powerless, and thus unable to advocate for a fair share of budget allocations and services. Second, good budget practices and the best interests of the child are inseparable. While the financial cost of creating a more child-friendly society is often low, the social and economic benefits of ensuring that budgets reflect the best interests of the child are enormous. Childhood is a critical stage when the foundations are laid for a better life and when deprivation can have irreversible consequences. Third, given the exclusive and deeply political nature of the budget process, it is rare that budgets adequately address the needs of voiceless groups, such as children. A child-friendly budget is implemented in a transparent and accountable manner, taking into consideration issues of efficiency and equity. What is a child-friendly budget? Budgeting for children is not about separate budget systems that exclusively target children. Rather, it means ensuring that the national budget reflects child-friendly macroeconomic and social policies. A child-friendly budget is implemented in a transparent and accountable manner, taking into consideration issues of efficiency and equity, especially in the case of vulnerable populations such as children. A childfriendly budget will provide adequate, progressively increasing budget allocations to sectors that impact children the most: education, health, water and sanitation and social protection. (See more details in African Child Forum report, 2011). The characteristics of a child-friendly budget are shown graphically in Figure 1. A guide for civil society organisations 3

10 Figure 1 Budgeting for children Child-friendly macroeconomics and social policies Adequate and progressively increasing budget allocations BUDEGTING FOR CHIDLREN Transparent, acountable, participatory budget process Efficient and equitable budget allocations and expenditures Child-friendly macroeconomic policies include: In many cases CSOs have also developed complementary training and technical assistance programs to build the capacity of citizens and legislatures to engage more effectively with the budget process. Policies and associated investments that accelerate economic growth. This is because high economic growth which is pro-poor translates into higher income for the people, benefitting families and children. Strong growth also helps the government to increase its revenue, which can be used to increase child-related investments such as those needed to reduce maternal and infant mortality, reduce malnutrition, improve the quality of education and health services, and other similar initiatives. Policies that promote low inflation, because high inflation (a general rise in prices) reduces the value of money, pushing more people into poverty, including children. Policies that promote good fiscal practices (sound, transparent, accountable and participatory budget processes and reduced dependency on external financing), as well as strong monetary policies that avoid overvaluation of the local currency and promote investment and the export of goods and services. The concept of child-friendly social policies refers to policies that benefit children most. For example: policies that support investments in quality education and health for all, at all levels of the education or health system (and promote equity by gender, geographical location, urban versus rural areas); as well as policies that protect children from child labour, all forms of abuse and harmful customs such as female genital mutilation and corporal punishment. Issues of budget adequacy, equity, transparency and efficiency are discussed in Section 3. 4 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

11 How do countries achieve a child-friendly budget? Box 1 describes how some countries have achieved budgets friendlier to children in the following areas: (i) improved budget transparency, (ii) increased government responsiveness to children s issues, (iii) increased government accountability, (iv) increased efficiency and effectiveness of public spending, and (v) greater oversight through CSO audit work. Box 1 Examples of CSO engagement to achieve more child-friendly budgets (i) Improving budget transparency Some CSOs have developed highly sophisticated programmes to enhance the transparency of public budgeting, or the accessibility of reports, briefs and summary documents (including guidebooks) that enable a much broader range of citizens and legislators to understand budget decisions and the decisionmaking process. In many cases CSOs have also developed complementary training and technical assistance programs to build the capacity of citizens and legislatures to engage more effectively with the budget process. These efforts help to build the capacity of citizens to understand and commit themselves to difficult trade-offs inherent in budgeting, and to secure opportunities to make inputs into the budget process. For example: In Croatia the Institute for Public Finance (IPF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), undertakes public finance research and analysis to improve national policymaking and the effectiveness and efficiency of public budgeting. The IPF has published a Citizens Guide to the Budget and a Citizen s Guide to Taxation that provide a general introduction to that country s budget and taxation processes. The guide has been widely distributed and widely used by the public and legislators, as attested to by an incident that occurred when it was first published, at a time when the Parliament was discussing the national budget. A member of the Croatian Parliament stood up brandishing the document, and said to the Deputy Minister of Finance: Now we don t have to simply listen to you anymore, we have a guide! (Shapiro 2001). This and other IPF-published guides are regularly updated and made available on the organisation s website (Van Zyl and Shultz 2006). (ii) Increasing government responsiveness to children s issues CSOs have played an important role in increasing government spending on the needs of poor citizens, including children, and ensuring government responsiveness to citizens priorities. While the total amount of funds involved in each case may be modest, the impact on citizen s lives and children is often substantial. For example: In South Africa, the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) is an NGO that supports the consolidation of democracy in South Africa by building effective civil society and governance institutions. Analysis conducted by IDASA s Children s Budget Unit showed that the government Child Support Grant to support the poorest families was being administered poorly, in large part because of poor institutional capacity among local governments. As a result, the programme was not fully accessible to its primary beneficiaries rural and marginalised families. Further, IDASA s research highlighted the fact that programme funding was not keeping up with increases in the cost of living (inflation). IDASA used these findings to launch an advocacy campaign to demand that: (i) programme funding be increased to keep up with inflation, (ii) the age limit of eligible children be increased, and (iii) additional resources be allocated to improve the institutional capacity of local governments. In a major success for IDASA, the government increased funding for the Child Support Grant and raised the eligibility age from seven to 14 years (Hofbauer 2006). (iii) Increasing government accountability CSOs have achieved some success in holding governments accountable to the public for their budget decision-making and implementation. They achieved this goal by successfully advocating for stronger public finance laws, as well as ensuring that government budget commitments are actually met and that appropriated funds are spent effectively and efficiently. For example: A guide for civil society organisations 5

12 In Uganda the Uganda Debt Network (UDN), an NGO established in 1996, publicised the misuse of funds from the Schools Facilities Grant (SFG) which support the construction of primary schools in Katakwi district. The UDN report highlighted major shortcomings in the SFG guidelines that prevented effective oversight from being exercised over contractors, who were building poor-quality schools. Sustained pressure brought to bear by UDN and its partners led to the revision of SFG guidelines to improve the quality of construction of school buildings, classrooms, and toilets. Among other changes, contractors are now required to submit performance guarantees declaring they will do quality work and ensure timely delivery of all projects. Further, contractors are required to submit bank guarantees that cover any advances that are released to them for project costs. In this way, if a contractor reneges on contract terms, the government is able to recover the amount advanced to the contractor directly from the contractor s bank (de Renzio et al. 2006). IDASA successfully advocated for changes in South Africa s new financial management legislation, to increase transparency and accountability to parliament. IDASA insisted on the inclusion of stronger controls that require government departments to seek legislative approval before spending funds on purposes not matching budget plans, and of a provision requiring direct departmental responsibility for overspending (Hofbauer 2006). (iv) Increasing efficiency and effectiveness of public spending CSOs have achieved some success in combating leakages and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public spending, mainly through careful monitoring of government expenditures at the national and local levels. In Mexico, the national legislature approved an increase of 600 million pesos for programmes dedicated to women s health in Subsequently, the president of the legislature s budget committee asked the Minister of Health to allocate 30 million pesos of these funds to eight non-governmental women s centres. The minister complied, but the arbitrary and irregular allocation of funds created uproar in the legislature. A network of six civil society institutions, including FUNDAR Centro de Análisis e Investigación, came together to examine this issue. FUNDAR obtained hundreds of pages of accounting records from the Ministry of Health, using the national freedom of information law, and identified large-scale corruption in a contract awarded to a private agency (Provida) under an HIV/AIDS prevention program. FUNDAR s findings were supported by an official investigation conducted by the national audit institution. Subsequently, pressure brought to bear by the FUNDAR-led campaign resulted in the initiation of government proceedings to recover misappropriated funds and the implementation of changes in policies governing the management of discretionary funds. The auditor imposed a huge fine (13 million pesos) on Provida, which was also asked to return the funds it had received and barred from receiving public funds for 15 years (Robinson and Vyasalu 2006). (v) Oversight through CSO audit work Government audit institutions and CSOs are increasingly finding ways to engage with each other to exploit their relative strengths to improve oversight of public funds. For example: India s Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) a peasant and workers union uses public hearings to conduct social audits of local government expenditures in rural communities. During these social audits, local communities check accounting and other records of public works programmes executed in their area to identify instances of unfulfilled work, fraudulent billing and falsified labour earnings. MKSS social audit methods are now being used all over India by citizen s groups to monitor a recently introduced entitlement program the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme under which rural households are eligible to receive minimum wage employment for 100 days in a year. Further examples are available at 6 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

13 UNICEF/Sala Lewis A guide for civil society organisations 7

14 The budget can be an extremely important instrument for advancing the survival, protection and development of children. UNICEF/Sala Lewis 8 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

15 3 The Government Budget Government budgeting is a crucial process through which a government s financial resources are generated, prioritised, allocated, executed and controlled. Budgets represent a key policy document that reveals how much money the government intends to raise, from whom, and how that money will be spent across sectors. As such, the budget can be an extremely important instrument for advancing the survival, protection and development of children. A budget is a plan. The government budget is similar to a household budget in many respects. The government has to address the same challenge of limited resources so often encountered by households. Governments also have to make choices when setting spending priorities. Briefly, the budget is a financial proposal that directs the annual provision of public services and facilities; for example, funds to build school classrooms, build a road or a health centre or pay salaries of civil servants. What is the purpose of the national budget? Budgets serve as a multifaceted tool for governments: Planning tool to set goals and estimate costs and expected outcomes Control tool to hold officials accountable for planned revenue and expenditure Fiscal tool to provide economic stability and promote growth Political tool to help with prioritisation and targeting of allocations. The government budget is similar to a household budget in many respects. The government has to address the same challenge of limited resources so often encountered by households. What are revenue and expenditure? The budget has two sides: revenue and expenditure. Revenue is the money collected by government through taxes, levies, fees, grants and other sources. These funds are used to finance the budget plan. The money spent on salaries, materials or other capital expenses (such as building a hospital facility) is called expenditure. Regular, ongoing expenses such as paying salaries, fuel, travel allowances are known as recurrent expenditures. Money spent on investments such as building roads, factories, irrigation systems and other assets is called development expenditure or capital spending. Tanzanian law requires that revenues and expenditures must be equal in the Annual Budget, to ensure a balanced budget. What are the key characteristics of a good budget? Transparency government budget decisions should be open to public debate and scrutiny Accountability the government should be accountable to the people for its spending A guide for civil society organisations 9

16 Participatory takes into account the basic needs of most people Sustainability does not rely too heavily on external/donor funding Flexibility adaptable to the needs of the people at local and national level Relevance reflects the country s policy priorities. Citizens and civil society organisations should advocate for an open budget system that is responsive to the needs of the people and child-friendly. The qualities of a good budget outlined above are interdependent. The government is more likely to have good budgetary outcomes if these values are included in the budgetary process (See Section 4). In following up issues related to budgeting for children, it is important to measure the performance of budgets not only by examining inputs and outputs, but also by assessing outcomes. How is budget performance measured? Budgets are measured by looking at inputs, outputs and outcomes: Inputs are the resources or funds used to produce goods and services (results). Examples of inputs include money, labour, or tractors. Outputs are the results produced by the inputs to a programme. Outputs result from internal activity; for example, the number of pupils completing secondary education. Outcomes are the changes in quality of life that result from outputs. Outcomes should reflect positive change; for example, reduced child malnutrition or teenage pregnancy. In following up issues related to budgeting for children, it is important to measure the performance of budgets not only by examining inputs and outputs, but also by assessing outcomes. What are the key elements of the government budget? A budget contains information about: Plans, programmes, projects, schemes and activities current as well as new proposals for the coming year Available resources and income from different sources, including tax and nontax revenues Actual receipts and expenditures for the previous year Economic, statistical and accounting data regarding financial and physical performance of the various government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). The following key elements are characteristic of a sound government budget system: A legal framework to define institutional roles and responsibilities, including checks and balances (accountability) A comprehensive budget that captures the totality of government financial operations Accurate and timely information and projections (which depends on developing accurate demographic statistics and the capacity to accurately estimate the cost of implementing policies) A process that is transparent, allowing for meaningful participation by the legislature and civil society, and builds performance-monitoring into the budget system. 10 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

17 Among the many factors influencing Tanzania s budget, some of the most important are: Budget system: The system by which resources are allocated, recorded, monitored and accounted for Budget policy: The programmatic use of a government s spending and revenuegenerating activities to influence the economy and achieve specific objectives. Cash budget system: In Tanzania the government can only spend money that is available. The cash budget system, managed by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), limits aggregate (total) monthly expenditure to average revenue collection over the previous three months, plus donor assistance. The MoF collects revenues through the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and allocates money to spending units. In Zanzibar this function is carried out by the President s Office Finance, Economy and Development Planning (PoFEDP) through the TRA and Zanzibar Revenue Board (ZRB). If revenue from all sources is not enough to cover planned expenditure during the financing period, projects cannot be implemented as planned. Normally, good budget systems produce budgetary policies that ensure that aggregate spending is affordable, that resources are spent on identified priorities and not wasted. Budget advocacy to achieve greater investments in children s rights should aim to create a better budget system (see Section 8). This, in turn, will contribute to an improved budget policy. Budget characteristics of interest to CSO advocacy WORK 1. Adequacy: How much is budgeted? Article 4 of the CRC and Article 5 of the ACRWC require governments to invest the maximum extent of available resources to realise the wellbeing of children. Emphasis is placed on expenditures for child development, health, education and social protection. CSOs need to analyse the budget to determine how much is being allocated in these areas, using the following benchmarks as a guide: Health: In the Abuja Declaration on HIV/AIDS, TB and Other Related Infectious Diseases of April 2001, signatory countries pledged to spend 15 per cent of their total budgets on the health sector (OAU, 2001). The World Health Organisation has set the minimum per capita annual cost required to provide basic health services in low-income countries at USD 34 per person. Example: in 2011/12, Tanzania allocated 9.6 per cent of its total budget to the health sector (USD 19 per capita). This is inadequate, so CSOs should continue to advocate for increased investments in health. Education: As part of the Education for all Initiative (UNESCO, 2000) governments pledged to allocate at least 7 per cent of their GDP to education by 2005, and to increase the goal to 9 per cent by In 2010 Tanzania spent only 3.5 per cent of its GDP on education. Social protection: By signing on to the Social policy framework for Africa (2008) the government committed to set aside 4.5 per cent of GDP for social protection. According to the African Child Policy Forum, African countries, including Tanzania, spend less than three per cent of GDP on social protection (ACPF 2011). Water and Sanitation: The 2008 ethekwini Declaration calls for investment of 1.5 per cent of GDP in water and sanitation; in 2010 Tanzania invested just 0.5 per cent of GDP. Normally, good budget systems produce budgetary policies that ensure that aggregate spending is affordable, that resources are spent on identified priorities and not wasted. A guide for civil society organisations 11

18 Elimination of mother to child HIV transmission (emtct): The United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) set a 2010 target of 50 per cent reduction in the proportion of infants newly infected with HIV. In 2011, the per centage of infants infected at birth by HIV-positive was per cent. Nearly one third of the USD 400 million yearly donor assistance to Tanzania s HIV and AIDS programme is channelled to emtct programmes. 2. Priorities: How does the budget for any given purpose compare to resources spent in other areas of the budget? (For example, compare funds budgeted for education with defence, water or health). Such comparisons can reveal government priorities and whether or not stated policy priorities match priorities in the budget, as well as help to determine whether government is keeping its promises (policy commitments). For example, in 2011/12 sectoral allocations (as a per cent of the total budget) were: infrastructure (20.6 per cent), education (16.9 per cent), health (8.9 per cent), agriculture (6.8 per cent), water (4.6 per cent), energy and minerals (4 per cent), defence (1.5 per cent), and others (38.3 per cent). These budgetary allocations show the priority placed by government s five-year development plan (2011/ /16) on investing more resources in improving the country s infrastructure (roads, electricity, etc.), while consolidating gains and achievements in the education and health sectors. 3. Progress over time: Is government s response on this issue improving? The purpose is to monitor whether spending is leading to desirable outcomes for children. The main indicators include: access to quality pre-primary, primary and secondary education; access to health care; access to clean water; maternal mortality rates; infant mortality rates; malnourishment; and gender disparity in primary and secondary schools. The main sources of data for assessing whether spending is achieving progress are: Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS), Tanzania Reproductive and Child Health Survey (TRCHS), Tanzania HIV and AIDS and Malaria Figure 2 Tanzania: Trends in Infant Mortality Rates by Residence, Tanzania: deaths per 1,000 live births Neonatal Post-Neonatal Infant Child Underfive / / Source: URT (2011b). 12 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

19 Indicators Survey (THMIS), Tanzania Bureau of Statistics (TBS), Zanzibar Office of Chief Government Statistician (OCGS) and Poverty and Human Development Report (PHDR). For example, the PHDR 2011 shows that Tanzania is making some progress in reducing child and infant mortality, although the rates are still too high (Figure 2). 4. Equity: Are resources allocated fairly? This may require CSOs to analyse per capita spending across geographical regions and spending on programmes that benefit disadvantaged groups, such as children, women, and disabled children. For example, a 2011 study by UNICEF Tanzania found that trends in national budgeting show significant gaps in both allocation and use of available resources, including major variations in per capita spending on health by district. For example, in Biharamulo District (Kagera Region), annual per capita spending on health is less than Tsh 3,000 per person, compared with Pangani District (Tanga Region), where expenditure is more than ten times that amount. Similarly wide variations in per capita spending were found for education, with the best-served districts spending five times as much per child as the least-served districts (UNICEF 2011). Similar findings of inequitable budget allocations in health and education were found by a Public Expenditure Review supported by the World Bank in Some countries in Africa are trying to use public expenditure tracking surveys to reduce resource leakage and enhance budget efficiency in the education sector. One tool often used to measure equity of public expenditure is Benefit Incidence Analysis (BIA), which measures the direct effects of the benefits of publicly provided goods (for example free health services or free primary education) to individuals in society and the impact on their wellbeing. For example, a BIA study conducted in Tanzania in 2010 showed that the poorest groups in society receive only a 14 per cent share of total education spending (URT 2010b). CSOs efforts to increase understanding of the links between budgeting, inequity and the impact on children among government decision-makers, including Parliamentarians and Councillors, should lead to more favourable budget allocations and the adoption of more effective policies and strategies for children. 5. Efficiency and effectiveness: CSOs should also analyse budget execution. In particular seeking answers to questions such as: Was the money spent? If so, was it spent on the right inputs and programmes? What was the allocated amount compared with actual expenditure? What are the various funding channels or mechanisms and their strengths and weaknesses? Was the right mix of inputs and services used to deliver the outputs in the most efficient way? These and other related questions are often answered through undertaking public expenditure reviews (PERs) and public expenditure tracking surveys (PETS). See for example Health PER (URT 2011c); HIV and AIDS PER (URT 2011d), and Education PETS (URT 2010a). Some countries in Africa are trying to use PET surveys to reduce resource leakage and enhance budget efficiency in the education sector. These surveys are one of the existing tools to improve effective public financial management and accountability by enhancing public engagement. PETS are designed to systematically track the flow of resources through the various layers of government bureaucracy. By doing so, they show what proportion of the originally allocated resources reach each level, and how long they take to get there. They allow an assessment of the leakage of public funds and the efficiency of public spending, as well as an evaluation of the quality and quantity of services delivered. Box 2 describes the use of PETs in Tanzania and Uganda. A guide for civil society organisations 13

20 Box 2 Using Public Expenditure Tracking Surveys (PETS) to mitigate resource leakage In Tanzania the 2010 PETS report on primary and secondary education on the mainland showed 29 per cent net losses due to teacher absences and failure to transfer grants from councils to schools, amounting to over USD 120 million in primary education in 2008 alone (URT, 2010). Performance was better at secondary level, where the total level of transfer of funds to schools was 93.2 per cent of the budget allocated. The survey also showed that fund transfers vary significantly between councils, and depend on management practices and decisions by councils. In Uganda, the survey demonstrated the importance of enhancing efficient utilisation of public budgets. The findings triggered action, and the government took measures to improve the flow of information and make budget allocations more transparent. These measures included: Publishing the amount transferred to districts in newspapers and on radio broadcasts Requiring schools to maintain public notice boards posting monthly transfers of funds Making legal provisions for accountability and information dissemination in the 1997 Local Governance Act Requiring districts to deposit all grants to schools in their own accounts, and delegating authority for procurement from central authorities to the schools. Source: ACPF, Understanding the many factors and strategies described above should help CSOs to exert a positive influence on budget allocation and policies and strategies for children. However, CSOs can build their advocacy argument around any of the above criteria, such as adequacy or progress in attaining set targets for specific child-related interventions, or the equity of budget allocations or how efficiently and effectively available resources are being used. Understanding and analysing budgets Approaching a large stack of government papers full of tables and numbers can be intimidating. It helps to break the work down into small pieces of information that is of interest to you. The following steps should help: Step 1 Know what information you are looking for. Step 2 Look for the relevant Ministry, Department or Agency budget books. Step 3 Once you have the book, search for the Objective relevant to your work. Example if your interest is HIV/AIDS, look at Objective A ; if it is Burden of Disease Reduced go to Objective E, etc. Step 4 Under each objective several targets are listed select the target that provides the information you are looking for. Step 5 Extract the budget figure at the intersection between the target total row and the column labelled Annual Budget Estimates. 14 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

21 When looking for the relevant MDA budget books, the following list should guide you: Table 1 Budget Booklets Budget book Budget Book Volume I Budget Book Volume II Budget Book Volume III Budget Book Volume IV Information on actual expenditure Description Contains government revenue estimates Contains recurrent budget estimates for MDAs Contains recurrent budget estimates for Regions, with an appendix with district budgets Contains development budget estimates for MDAs and Regions Found in quarterly budget execution reports visit Ministry of Finance website: (Mainland) and (Zanzibar). Also Controller and Auditor General: (Mainland) and (Zanzibar). Thus for example, if you are interested in learning about issues related to government revenue, use the MoF budget section in Budget Book Volume 1 or visit the website listed above. Next you should understand the main reference numbers used in the budget books. These are called Votes and Sub-votes. The most important reference numbers with regard to budgets affecting children are shown in Table 2. Table 2 Key budget reference numbers for child budget analysis Ministry/Agency Vote Sub-vote Description Health & Social Welfare Preventive services 4002 Social welfare Education & Vocational Training Education Community Dev., Gender & Children Child development Local Gov t & Regional Social sector Administration (LGAs) Commission for Human Rights Human rights & Governance Water and Sanitation Urban water supply and sewage 4001 Rural water supply School water, sanitation and Education hygiene (School WASH) Preventive services A guide for civil society organisations 15

22 Box 3 provides an example of how to analyse a budget. Box 3 Budget analysis There are many ways to analyse budgets. Most budget information is organised either around sources of income (e.g. taxes or donor assistance) or how the funds are used; for example, for education (primary, secondary, higher education) or health (curative services, preventive services, etc.). Once you have arrived at the relevant MDA and reference number (Vote) in the MTEF books, you will find that the information is organised in terms of objectives. Objective A might be: Services Improved and HIV/AIDS infections reduced. Objective B could be: Equitable and Gender-Sensitive Health and Social Welfare Services ensured, and so forth). Suppose you are interested in finding out how much money the Ministry of Health budget allocated for 2012/13 in support of the Children s Agenda goal 1: Invest to Save the Lives of Children and Women. Go to MoHSW Vote 52, sub-vote Look for Objective E: Burden of Disease Reduced Under Objective E there are 12 targets. Target 5 Maternal mortality reduced by 50 per cent from current levels by 2015, is relevant to the Children s Agenda goal. Now look at the total allocation for Target 5, find where the row for Total of Target meets the column called Annual Budget Estimates 2012/13. You now have the total allocations for 2012/13 to reduce maternal mortality rates. Notice that under each target there are several activities and associated funding to achieve the desired outcome(s). Now you may wish to know if the budget figures you have just obtained are larger or smaller than in the previous year. There are two ways to find out. 1. Growth in the Budget - nominal value (not adjusted by inflation) Normally progress, or growth, is expressed as a percentage of the previous year s budget: Nominal growth rate = (Y2 - Y1) / Y1 *100 =..% (per cent). Example: Assume that Year 1 (2011/12) allocations for reducing maternal mortality rate were Tsh 700 million; and Year 2 (2012/13) allocations were Tsh 850 million. Applying the formula, the nominal increase was 21.4 per cent. 16 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

23 2. Growth in the Budget -real value (adjusted for inflation) Why do this? Inflation reduces purchasing power of currency over time, i.e. 1 shilling last year buys you less than 1 shilling this year, because everything has become more expensive. This makes comparison of amounts between different years invalid. So, convert nominal amounts into real amounts by adjusting for inflation. An easy way to make the adjustment is to use an inflation deflator. This is inflation as measured by the annual growth rate of the economy (GDP), which shows the rate of price change in the economy as a whole. The deflator is the ratio of GDP in current local currency to GDP in constant local currency. The inflation deflators are found in the Bank of Tanzania economic publications (see For the example above, use a simple formula: Y2/deflator. Given a deflator of 1.18, and Y2 = Tsh 850 million, then Y2/1.18 = million. This means, in real terms, that the budget increase for reducing maternal mortality was only 3 per cent, compared with the nominal increase of 21.4 per cent. Another important indicator you may wish to calculate is per capita budget spending. This can be achieved by dividing the budget by the population, yielding information about whether the budget is being allocated equitably among the people. Example, suppose a regional budget for spending on child nutrition was Tsh 75 million, and the region had two districts: Mtakuja and Mtachelewa. The budget allocation for each district and its respective population is Calculation of per capita income Per capita income = Budget/population Example: Mtakuja Mtachelewa Population 600,000 1,100,000 Budget allocation (Tshs) 30,000,000 45,000,000 Per capita shown on the box. Mtakuja was allocated 9 per cent more funds for nutrition per child than Mtachelewa. However, the per capita calculation does not take into account other factors that could influence the allocation. For example, Mtakuja might have twice as much malnutrition as Mtachelewa, justifying a larger share of per capita spending. CSOs have to be careful when reaching conclusions based on averages or numbers, because they often conceal other factors that affect budget allocation and spending. A guide for civil society organisations 17

24 The main components of the budget process are the development, implementation, and evaluation of a plan for the provision of services and capital assets. UNICEF/Sala Lewis 18 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

25 4 The budget process The main components of the budget process are the development, implementation, and evaluation of a plan for the provision of services and capital assets. As noted previously, several essential features characterise a good budget process: Incorporates a long-term perspective Establishes linkages to broad goals Focuses budget decisions on results and outcomes Involves and promotes effective communication with stakeholders Provides incentives to government management and employees Tanzania mainland budget cycle The budget cycle is shown in Figure 3. The first phase, or stage, consists of budget formulation, which takes place between August and May. The second phase is budget approval and enactment, which takes place between June and August. The third stage is budget implementation, which takes place during the fiscal year July to June. The last phase is oversight and control, which is on-going throughout the year. See more details in Section 6. Figure 3 Tanzania mainland budget cycle BUDGET FORMULATION (August May) Formulation of budget policy and resource projections Issuance of Planning and Budget Guidelines Estimating the revenues and expenditure Scrutiny of estimates by Parliamentary subcommittees and Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee Cabinet approval of budget BUDGET APPROVAL AND ENACTEMENT (June August) Tabling in Legislature; budget speeches presented Debate in full Parliament OVERSIGHT AND CONTROL (Ongoing) Within-year monitoring external audit conducted by Controller and Auditor General (CAG) Audit reports tabled in Parliament and follow-up action taken BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION (July June) MDAs prepare action plans (work plans) Budget is executed according to cash budget system Central government releases money to districts; services delivered Request for legislative approval of adjustment A guide for civil society organisations 19

26 Civil society organisations seeking to improve children s rights and wellbeing can influence the budget during all phases of the budget cycle. Table 3 describes the main entry points for CSO engagement in the budget process in mainland Tanzania. Table 3 Key CSO entry points in the budget process (mainland Tanzania) Time Activity Main Actors CSO entry points August December January March Background analysis: PER, Rapid Budget Analysis (RBA), Policy Week Issuance of Budget Guidelines Draft Cabinet paper for discussion and review by Cabinet Secretariat, Inter- Ministerial Technical Committee (IMTC) and then the Cabinet. Past and current budget performance review Preparation of detailed plans and targets; Identification of activities and costing of inputs; Preparation of three-year performance based budget (MTEF ) Submission of draft budget estimates to MoF for scrutiny Budget Guidelines Committee (BGC) Cabinet Secretariat IMTC Cabinet, CSOs, donors MDAs (DPP) Development partners (DPs) This stage is the most effective time to influence the budget because it is when budget policy is being formulated. CSOs should ensure effective participation in background analysis that influences budget policy (e.g. in PERs, PETS, and Rapid Budget Analysis). Priorities for children s investments should be included in the children s RBA and CSOs should participate effectively during Policy Week (normally in November) to ensure that children s priorities are included in the Budget Guidelines. (See also Section 5.) This stage is also effective for influencing the budget because policies are translated into programmes; prioritisation takes place, and indicative resource figures are established. CSOs should participate actively in performance reviews and lobby with relevant social sector MDA Directors of Policy and Planning to ensure that children s priority investments are included in MTEFs. (See also Section 8.) April May Scrutiny of MDAs estimates by MoF Donor/government consultations PER Consultative Meeting Submission of estimates to Cabinet Secretariat IMTC and then Cabinet Approval of Budget Framework and Expenditure Proposal by Cabinet Computerization of Budget Data Printing of Budget Books by the government printer MoF, Po-PC, Po-PSM DPs NGOs, CSOs and politicians MDAs Cabinet Secretariat IMTC Cabinet Printer CSOs should continue to participate in donor-government consultative meetings, hold meetings with relevant parliamentary committees (e.g. Social Services; Social Welfare and Community Development and Finance and Economic Affairs) to discuss children s investment priorities and lobby with relevant Cabinet members to ensure children s priorities are maintained in the budget submissions. (See also Section 8.) 20 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

27 Time Activity Main Actors CSO entry points May June Budget Discussion and Authorisation Parliament July June July June Budget Execution Release of funds by MoF Collection and Accounting for revenue collections-tra and other MDAs. Delivery of Services and Project Implementation Maintenance of proper accounts for control and accountability Reporting on budget performance Monitoring and Control Accountability to ascertain appropriateness of expenditure and revenue and their conformity to the authorities through financial reports Management assistance for providing management with information of performance Parliamentary Committees Sector Ministers MoF MoF TRA MDAs DPs CSOs Private sector Parliament Auditors MoF VPO PER Forum CSOs CSOs should lobby with individual constituency members of Parliament to emphasise the importance of supporting and approving sector budgets that have a strong impact on children s rights and wellbeing. Participate in developing a Citizen s Budget. (See also Sections 8 and 9.) CSOs should follow up budget execution to foster timely release of approved funding and delivery of services. Work with media to expose malpractices in budget execution. Assist LGAs, especially at ward and village levels, to maintain proper accounts and reporting on budget performance. (See also Sections 8 and 10.) CSOs should conduct various types of studies, such as PERs, to provide information on the use of resources and assess impact. Expose malpractice where observed, especially by being familiar with the Controller and Auditor reports. (See also Section 8.) Key Acronyms Po-PC = President s Office Planning Commission; Po-PSM = President s Office Public Service Management; VPO = Vice President s Office; MDAs = Ministries, departments and agencies; TRA= Tanzania Revenue Authority; DPs Development partners A guide for civil society organisations 21

28 Zanzibar budget cycle As Figure 4 shows, the first phase or stage consists of budget formulation, which in Zanzibar takes place between August and May. The second phase is budget approval and enactment, in June and July. The third phase is budget implementation, which takes place during the fiscal year July to June. The last phase is oversight and control, which is on-going throughout the year. Further details are available in Section 7 of this report. Figure 4 Zanzibar budget cycle BUDGET FORMULATION (August May) Budget review of previous year Update of strategic, economic and fiscal plans Issuance of Budget Call Circulars MDA estimating revenues and expenditure Budget ceiling approval by HR Scrutiny of estimates by House of Representative (HR) Committees BUDGET APPROVAL AND ENACTEMENT (June August) Tabling to HR; budget speeches presented Debate in House of Represntative Budget approval by HR OVERSIGHT AND CONTROL (Ongoing) Within-year monitoring of budget execution External audit conducted by Office of the Controller and Auditor General (OCAG) Audit reports tabled in HR and follow-up action taken BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION (July June) Budget is executed by cash budget system PoFEDP releases money to MDAs for implementation Request to HR for legislative approval of adjustment, if necessary Table 4 Zanzibar main CSO entry points in the budget process Time Activity Main Actors CSO entry points August December Budget review of previous Fiscal Year Audit work for previous Fiscal Year Update Strategic Plan (SP), Economic and Fiscal Update Annual Reports to Auditor General MTEF/PBB Guidelines Update Strategic Plan; Economic and Fiscal Update MDAs prepare inputs to Fiscal Plans, including MTEF PoFEDP MDAs Budget Hearings OCAG MDAs House of Representatives (HR) Committees Donors This is the most effective point to influence the budget because it is during this time budget policy and plans are formulated. CSOs should ensure effective participation in background analysis that influences budget policy (e.g. in PERs, PETS). Build community capacity to participate in developing child- friendly plans and budgets Attend Shehia meetings and those scheduled by District and Regional Development Committees Lobby with MDAs to ensure that children s issues are given priority in the plans and budget hearings January March Setting macro fiscal targets Budget policy statement PoFEDP OCAG This stage is also effective to influence the budget because budget policies and expenditure ceilings are set. 22 Budgeting for children in Tanzania

29 Budget ceiling approval by Cabinet Budget ceiling and Call Circulars; 2nd Budget Call Circular release Submission of OCAG audited reports of the previous year to President April May MDAs finalising MTEF, Fiscal Year Budget update Approval of Strategic Audit Plans and Programme June Tax changes to House of Representatives Budget discussion and authorisation Work plans, procurement plan, cash plan before start of the year July June Budget Execution Release of funds by PoFEDP Collection and Accounting for revenue collections-tra, ZRB and other MDAs. Delivery of Services and Project Implementation Maintenance of proper accounts for control and Accountability Reporting on budget performance July June Monitoring and Control Accountability to ascertain appropriateness of expenditure and revenue and their conformity to the authorities through financial reports Management assistance for providing management with information of performance. MDAs Cabinet House of Representative Committees MDAs PoFEDP Cabinet HR HR PoFEDP MDAs PoFEDP TRA and ZRB MDAs Donors CSOs Private sector HR Auditors - OCAG PoFEDP Donors PER and other public expenditure review forums CSOs and media CSOs should work with PoFEDP and MDAs that have a strong impact on children to ensure a child-friendly budget policy statement Lobby with relevant HR committee members (those in social sectors) to ensure children s priorities are maintained in budget submission Analyze OCAG reports and work with media to expose issues of interest to children s rights. (See also Section 8.) CSOs should continue to discuss children s investment priorities with PoFEDP and lobby with relevant cabinet and HR members to ensure children s priorities are maintained in the budget submissions. (See also Section 8) CSOs should lobby with individual constituency members of House of Representatives to stress the importance of supporting and approving sector budgets that have a strong impact on children s rights and wellbeing. (see also Sections 8 and 9) CSOs should follow up budget execution to foster timely release of approved funding and delivery of services. Work with media to expose malpractices in budget execution. Assist communities, especially at Shehia level, to maintain proper accounts and reporting on budget performance at local level. (See also Section 8.) CSOs should conduct various types of studies, such as PERs and PETS, to provide information of the use of resources and assess impact Expose malpractice where observed, especially by being familiar with reports by the Office of the Controller and Auditor General. (See also Section 8.) Key Acronyms PoFEDP = President s Office Finance, Economy and Development Planning; HR = House of Representatives; MDAs = Ministries, departments and agencies; TRA= Tanzania Revenue Authority; ZRB = Zanzibar Revenue Board; OCAG = Office of the Controller and Auditor General A guide for civil society organisations 23