Rafiullah
Zhob
Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives has launched its annual report on state of budget transparency in Pakistan. The report points out shortcomings in the budgeting process at the federal and provincial levels and states that budgets in the country should be prepared in consultation with the stakeholders and information should be shared with citizens proactively during all stages of budget making and budget implementation process, said provincial coordinator CPDI Muhammad Asif, while addressing a press conference here.
The event was organized by Action for Welfare & Awakening in Rural Environment (AWARE) under the banner of Citizens’ Network for Budget Accountability (CNBA).
The CNBA is a network of more than 60 civil society organizations working on the budget transparency in 110 districts of Pakistan.
He said that CPDI has always strived for openness in the budget at every level. For the past decade, CPDI has been gauging the transparency of district budgets all over the Pakistan but this year the focus was on federal and provincial levels. This report not only reviewed budget transparency but also tested the effectiveness of access to information laws in obtaining budget related information. Explaining the findings of the report, he said that the report consisted of two parts. The first section dealt with requests for information to various federal ministries and provincial departments seeking information about the various stages of the budgeting process.