On October 18, 2006 civil society organizations from 59 countries around the world introduced the Open Budget Index OBI). The OBI, a project of the Internation Budget Project (IBP) is the first survey instrument used to rate countries on how open their budget books are to their citizens. It is intended to provide citizens, legislators, and civil society advocates with the comprehensive and practical information needed to gauge a government’s commitment to budget transparency and accountability.
The Open Budget Index 2006 was calculated by the IBP based on detailed questionnaires completed by local experts in 59 participating countries from every continent. The Index assesses the availability of key budget documents, the quantity of information they provide, and the timeliness of their dissemination to citizens in order to provide reliable information on each country’s commitment to open budgeting.
The results of that survey showed that only six (6) of the 159 countries — France, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States — provide the extensive budget information necessary for government accountability.
The Philippines, with a rating of 51%, belong to the group of 32 countries which failed to make public all of the seven key budget reports they produce. These governments produce this information for their own internal use or for international donors, but do not make it available to their citizens.
More of this on my next post.
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