89828 B u d g e t T r a n s pa r e n c y I n i t i at i v e Increasing Accountability through Budget Transparency at the Subnational Level in Cameroon Improving governance is a major development challenge for Cameroon and for many other developing countries, and mak- ing public financial management more transparent is a central part of it. While budgets are public documents, accessible to citizens in principle, in practice, budget information is difficult to come by as a result of political, administrative, capacity, and logistical constraints as well as cost barriers at all tiers of government, including the national, regional, and municipal level and at service-delivery points like schools and health centers. In two of Cameroon’s 10 regions, a World Bank-supported initiative has piloted a citizen-centered approach for disseminating simplified budget information of 151 schools, 58 health centers, and 28 municipalities and the two regional administrations. Budgets were made public and awareness was raised through various activities, including public community meetings at which the budgets of institutions were read aloud, poster campaigns, art competitions, theater performances, student budget clubs, and the use of media such as community radios and Facebook. Results of the initiative include increased tax revenues for one local council, changes in the willingness of parents to contribute to the financing of schools, and greater trust between mayors and constituents. Introduction them into tools that empower citizens to influence policy, pro- grams, and resource; and help curb corruption; and improve Budget transparency refers to the extent and ease with which basic service delivery to citizens. citizens can access information about and provide feedback on government revenues, allocations, and expenditures. It is impor- With these steps in mind, the Budget Transparency Initiative tant because budgets are key documents that lay out a gov- (BTI) was piloted in Cameroon from early 2011 to the end of 2012, ernment’s priorities in terms of policies and programs. Opening in order to sensitize citizens and government officials about the up budgets and democratizing the budget process empowers importance of budget transparency and to simplify and make citizens to influence policy formulation and resource allocation. public the budgets of subnational administrative tiers (regions, It can also be important in reducing corruption. Thus, budget divisions, and municipalities) and service-delivery points (primary transparency is not a goal in itself, but it is a prerequisite for schools, secondary schools, and health centers). Once simpli- public participation and accountability. A budget that is not fied, budget information was widely disseminated through post- transparent, accessible, and accurate cannot be properly ana- ers, radio programs, and community meetings at which citizens lyzed. Its implementation cannot be thoroughly monitored nor were encouraged to provide feedback on government services, its outcomes evaluated. Given the technical nature of bud- to ask questions, and to hold officials accountable. The initiative gets and the budget process, transparent budgets require that sought to foster demand for good governance by increasing the information contained in them be presented in a simpli- citizen awareness about the allocation of money across sectors fied form and that they be actively disseminated to citizens. and projects, the extent to which it is spent as planned, and the Furthermore, such information must be disseminated in a timely sources from which it is obtained. Because budgets contain all manner, allowing citizens to effectively provide feedback that of this information, they are documents with a direct bearing on can influence policy formulation and resource allocation. The the quality and quantity of services citizens can access. Taking Budget Transparency Feedback Loop (figure 1) shows the key the centrality of budgets as a starting point, the BTI created steps involved in making budgets transparent and transforming platforms for direct engagement between citizens and public Figure 1. Budget Transparency Feedback Loop Source: Authors. officials, in order to nurture a culture of dialogue, feedback, and Context citizen oversight of civil servants and public institutions—with the ultimate aim of achieving better service delivery. Located in Central Africa, Cameroon has a population of approx- imately 20 million, with a per capita gross national income (GNI) The BTI was implemented in two phases. In Phase I (March of US$2,360 at purchasing power parity. This puts it just over 2011–January 2012), a first set of 80 institutions was targeted and the Sub-Saharan average, but the country ranks very low on a two approaches were tested in each of the two pilot regions. slew of governance-related indicators, including Transparency Phase II (March 2012–December 2012), taking into account what International’s Corruption Perception Index, which in 2012 was learnt in Phase I, doubled the number of target institutions. ranked it 144th. It fares particularly poorly in terms of budget The remainder of this note describes the context in which the transparency, underlined by its score of only ten out of one BTI unfolded, and the approach used, including the institutional hundred in the 2012 Open Budget Index. set-up of the initiative. This is followed by a summary of key findings and challenges encountered. Results of the initiative are Cameroon also ranks relatively poorly on many human documented and key recommendations for policymakers inter- development indicators and will likely not meet any of the ested in replicating similar efforts to increase budget transpar- Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Poor governance is ency at subnational levels are then distilled. recognized as a cause for the lackluster progress in reducing poverty and improving delivery of services—despite increased The BTI was financed by the Governance Partnership Facility economic growth in recent years and many years of significant as a pilot initiative aimed at strengthening the demand-side of government revenues—prompting the World Bank to call for a governance in Cameroon, in line with the cross-cutting gover- cross-cutting approach to improving governance.1 nance theme of the 2010–13 World Bank Country Assistance Strategy for Cameroon. 2 The BTI focused on the subnational rather than the national Figure 2. Map of Cameroon level for several reasons. First, the ongoing decentraliza- tion efforts in Cameroon provided an opportune moment to pilot budget transparency activities at lower tiers of govern- ment, including service-delivery points, and to learn lessons that would prove valuable for Cameroon and other countries where government functions are being decentralized. Second, the choice to intervene subnationally and in the two pilot regions—the North-West and Adamawa—in particular, was demand-driven and responded to explicit requests for techni- cal assistance to increase budget transparency by the respective governors of the regions. Furthermore, dialogue with different authorities at the outset of the initiative suggested that leaders at the local level might be more receptive to budget transpar- ency than their counterparts at the central government. Finally, intervening at the local level allowed a focus on the budgets of institutions such as schools and health centers, which are of immediate interest to most people; central government bud- gets are remote and can seem abstract. In demographic, cultural, economic, and geographic terms, the two pilot regions are starkly different from one another. Straddling Cameroon’s major linguistic divide, the North-West Region (NWR) is one of only two Anglophone regions while Adamawa is a Francophone region. NWR is often referred to as the breadbasket of the country because of its strong agri- cultural and livestock sectors; it also boasts some of country’s best schools, health centers, and transportation infrastruc- ture. The Adamawa Region (Adamawa), situated in Cameroon’s northeastern panhandle, is a much more sparsely-populated,2 controllers. All major decisions about the initiative were made arid region, with a higher poverty rate (54.8 percent versus 50.9 by the steering committees. percent in NWR3) and lower educational attainment, administra- The regional steering committees selected the schools, tive capacity, and quality of infrastructure than NWR. In both health centers, and local councils that participated in the BTI. regions, many people communicate in their vernacular dialect The institutions were selected on the basis of a number of crite- rather than in the official French or English, but particularly in ria, including geography (i.e., ease of access);4 perceived quality Adamawa, local languages are widely spoken—often exclu- of the management of the institutions and representative- sively so. As such, these two regions are very representative of ness (e.g., care was taken to include bilingual and monolingual Cameroon, a country with significant regional and socioeco- schools in Adamawa because both types are common in the nomic differences. region despite it being Francophone). While the steering committees presided over all the activi- Approach ties undertaken under the BTI, two partner nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were tasked with the bulk of the imple- Institutional Arrangements mentation of activities under the initiative. The Cameroonian To ensure sustainability and ownership from the outset, the branch of SNV Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) support of the governors for the initiative was put on a broader was contracted to implement activities in NWR; Integrity institutional footing through the creation of a steering commit- Network Cameroon (INC) covered Adamawa.5 The two NGOs tee in each region chaired by the governor himself and com- were assisted by focal points from the regional delegations of posed of the relevant line ministry delegates and the financial primary education; secondary education; health; and territorial 3 Table 1: Number of Pilot Institutions by Region In the more-developed NWR, SNV and the regional del- North-West Region Adamawa Region Total egations’ focal points developed a “data collection guide” to instruct directors of institutions on how to fill out the tem- Primary schools 40 Primary schools 55 95 plates. In addition, workshops were organized to train the direc- Secondary schools 30 Secondary schools 26 56 tors on issues of budget transparency and to clarify any queries Health centers 32 Health centers 26 58 they had about the templates. Directors then filled out the Local councils 15 Local councils 13 28 templates on their own, which were subsequently collected and Total 117 120 237 checked for accuracy and consistency by SNV. Source: Authors. In Adamawa, INC adopted a more hands-on approach that included sending field teams to the different institutions to fill administration and decentralization, which is responsible for out the templates with officials from selected institutions. A local councils. These focal points acted as the main conduit common understanding of the proper way to fill out the tem- for communicating with the different pilot institutions and, in plates was developed in a workshop prior to these field visits. some cases, also played a substantial role in the actual imple- While INC’s approach was less conducive to the institution- mentation of budget dissemination activities. Once the institu- alization of the initiative, it was consciously chosen to avoid the tional arrangements were in place, the activities described in the risk of templates being sent out but not returned in a timely remainder of this section were implemented to sensitize the manner—if at all. This was perceived to be a likely outcome due population and public officials about the importance of trans- to the low institutional capacity prevalent in Adamawa as well parent budgets and to make the budgets more accessible to as the poor infrastructure, making overland trips and thus deliv- citizens. ery of documents difficult and time-consuming. Creation and Field Testing of Simplified Budget Dissemination Meetings Templates In the course of both phases of the BTI, the budgets of 237 pilot The first step toward simplified budgets was the design of institutions were read aloud in NWR and Adamawa in public appropriate templates to capture and display the financial data budget dissemination meetings. The objective of the meetings of the different institutions. The templates were designed to was to inform citizens about the available resources of institu- convey the most important information at a glance—available tions, what they were spent on, and how they were obtained, resources and their expenditure across competing functions as as well as to give them the opportunity to ask questions and well as performance indicators (e.g., the number of vaccinations provide feedback about the divulged information. administered or babies delivered). The templates had to be tai- lored to the accounting and reporting arrangements already in place at the targeted institutions in order to facilitate the pro- cess of filling them out and to avoid duplication of efforts for those tasked to do so. Thus, the project team visited several schools and health centers to review their books and design templates based on them. The templates were then tested at other institutions and expunged of remaining flaws. Done separately in both regions to account for contextual differences, this step was crucial in obtaining accurate data in formats that could be easily divulged and publicly posted. Filling Out Budget Templates After appropriate templates were designed, the implementing NGOs proceeded with two different strategies to populate them with budget data, reflecting the different institutional environments of NWR and Adamawa. 4 These meetings were preceded by the posting of simpli- responsibilities of the different officials involved (health center fied budgets on notice boards of the target institutions as well managers, mayors, regional delegates, etc.) was developed and as at other prominent public places. Also, prior to the actual shared with the different institutions. meetings, a number of steps were taken to mobilize people to The meetings themselves were facilitated by SNV and INC attend and to give the meetings a common structure. First, they and were attended by a range of stakeholders. At the hospi- were advertised through community radio; then, in Phase II, the- tal meetings, staff, patients, community members, civil soci- ater troupes (in NWR) and musical events (in Adamawa) were ety organizations (CSOs), and staff were invited. At the school harnessed to spread the word of upcoming meetings. Second, meetings, teachers, students, community members, staff, and a guide with instructions on how to conduct dissemination parents were invited. At the local council and regional levels, meetings that outlined the agenda of the meeting and the the meetings were open to all constituents as well as the media. Box 1. How Different Contexts Affect the Mobilization of Citizens: Adamawa versus the North-West Region Adamawa Region’s low population density and weak infrastructure translate into higher costs for attending meetings compared to the more urban and better-connected regions like North-West Region (NWR). Many communities in Adamawa are quite isolated, and in rural areas, transport by foot is the norm. Opportunities to travel by car are irregular, making return trips on the same day unlikely. The result is clear: travel in rural areas in Adamawa is time-consuming, tiring, uncomfortable, expensive, and can even be a precarious affair. Furthermore, with livestock being the main economic activity in the region, many people keep to a nomadic life style, making mobilization particularly challenging. Poverty is greater in Adamawa than NWR, and this is likely to be a main constraint for citizen mobilization and participation in public meetings. Capacity constraints were also found to be much greater in Adamawa than NWR with regard to both the government appara- tus and the implementing NGO’s local partners. Further, in the first year of the initiative, the governor of NWR was unrivalled by his counterpart in Adamawa in terms of his interest in and ownership of the initiative. Arguably, this explains the greater suc- cess initially seen in NWR. However, presidential elections resulted in new appointments of governors in the middle of the ini- tiative and, as it turned out, the former governor of NWR was appointed as governor of Adamawa, bringing his enthusiasm with him. At his own initiative, the governor read aloud the regional budget himself to a room full of journalists and answered ques- tions about it, while at the same time instructing the regional delegates of primary education, secondary education, and health to follow his example. Also, at his behest, a public workshop was held in which the results of a Local Budget Transparency Index that benchmarked the transparency of local council budgets were discussed by mayors and shared with the media. Both of these steps sent important signals to officials and to the public, and marked a different quality of engagement than that of his predecessor. However, mobilization and sensitization levels at the grassroots level kept falling short of those observed in NWR, suggesting that even strong signals in favor of an initiative from the top are bound to dissipate if the lower administrative tiers and/or the implementing organizations lack the capacity to harness them for the initiative’s goals. Finally, compared to NWR, Adamawa has a more meager history of citizen participation in public life; therefore, people often need more convincing that participation in public meetings can yield benefits for them beyond immediate financial or mate- rial gains like per diems. The difference may be rooted in the two regions’ different political trajectories. NWR, an Anglophone region in a predominantly Francophone country, is the political base of the main opposition party—the Social Democratic Front—that was particularly active in the mobilization for democracy in 1991. This region is the only one where the ruling party does not have a majority of local council seatsa and has a history of political and social mobilization—sometimes violent— based on an Anglophone identity that is unique in Cameroon.b a. Seventy-five percent of the local councils in which the BTI intervened were ruled by the opposition party in the NWR; the ruling party dominated in 88 percent of the selected councils in Adamawa. b. For further details, see Konings and Nyamnjoh 2004. 5 In Phase I of the initiative, participation was generally good6 the mayors or their representatives. After the budgets were in NWR, but the quality of discussions varied substantially— presented, the meeting was opened for questions and observa- i.e., in some meetings people asked many relevant questions tions from the floor; heated discussions often ensued. and lively debates ensued, while in others people barely par- ticipated. In Adamawa, the picture was more mixed (see box 1 A Variegated Strategy to Sensitize and Mobilize— for possible reasons). In a first round of meetings, attendance Radio, Social Media, Educational Entertainment, Art was low7 and some planned meetings did not take place at all Competitions, and School Budget Clubs because of a lack of cooperation from the local authorities. In Radio’s unmatched reach and interactive potential make it the local council of Tignère, the mayor withdrew his cooperation an excellent medium to promote transparency and propel after witnessing a heated discussion and pointed questioning of people to participate. In Cameroon, as in many other develop- the management of a local health center. While this incident ing countries, radio is a powerful instrument, widely used and shows the extent to which this type of exercise depends on the unmatched in its reach of the poor and inhabitants of remote cooperation of local authorities, it also illustrates that citizens communities. An apt tool to promote budget transparency and with a platform to voice their concerns can have a powerful sensitize the population, the BTI thus commissioned a series effect on the behavior of officials. To remedy the rather weak of broadcasts in both regions. In NWR, a total of 40 radio pro- turnout in Adamawa and increase participant involvement in grams were produced, which featured discussions with directors discussions, efforts were intensified during a second series of of schools and hospitals as well as debates with CSOs. Most meetings conducted only in that region including the develop- programs were interactive and allowed for listeners to call in ment of detailed instructions for facilitators that stressed the and participate in discussions. Audio debates were designed importance of: to sensitize people on a number of budget related issues (e.g., • dispatching letters from the governor introducing the initia- how to hold traditional leaders accountable for funds entrusted tive to the respective mayors and heads of institutions prior to them). Radio was also used to announce budget dissemi- to dissemination meetings; nation meetings at schools and hospitals in order to increase attendance. • organizing working sessions prior to meetings to prepare and clarify roles; In Adamawa, a total of 64 programs were developed by INC and were broadcast as part of a longstanding series on Adamawa • involving steering committee members, religious and tra- and Decentralization that had already regularly touched on ditional authorities, and CSOs (e.g., women’s associations issues of governance. Programs were broadcast in Fufulde and and university student groups) in the meetings as well as in French; they informed people about the activities undertaken efforts to mobilize people to attend them; under the BTI and about budget transparency more generally. • encouraging everyone to speak, including women; Listeners could call in and direct questions to the guest for the day, including mayors and other public officials (box 2). • encouraging people to speak in local languages such as Pidgin and Fufulde rather than in the official languages of French and Theater is a powerful and engaging way to sensitize English, if preferred (translators were made available); and citizens about the importance of budget transparency. • keeping the debate focused on issues related to the use of public resources. Ostensibly, the efforts to increase attendance and the qual- ity of discussion paid off—the average number of participants more than doubled to 60 people per meeting. These meetings proceeded along the following lines. First, an INC member introduced the concept of account- ability and made the case for the benefits of transparency and participation. This was followed by a presentation of the simpli- fied budgets from the past fiscal year by the school principals and PTA presidents, the heads of the health centers, and then 6 Box 2. Conveying the Importance of Budget Transparency Via Radio In Bamenda, many people listen to radio programs in English, French, Pidgin, and local languages. For Pidgin programs, most people tune in to Radio Hot Cocoa, listening from their taxis, shops, markets, offices, and schools. One very popular program that covers burning societal issues in a bold manner is called “If Na You,” in which the radio anchor introduces a weekly theme and listeners call in to discuss it. In one episode, the anchor asked: “What will you do if a family member of yours working in public office brings home a large sum of money?” Moderated by two anchors, listeners called in to give their opinions while an SNV advisor facilitated the dis- cussion and highlighted its implications for budget transparency. The one-hour program had over 60 callers from all over NWR, including children, women, public officials, pastors, and market women. At the beginning of the program, many participants made statements such as “money no get color, if e bringam we go cho- pam” (money has no color, if he brings it we will spend it”), but as the discussion proceeded, comments started to resemble the following one: “if money na for community I think say e go fine make we work with them for usam fine” (If money is meant for the community it is good to work with the community to properly use the money). After the moderators and a number of callers made the case for budget transparency, one caller who had said she would spend the money was prompted to call back to declare a change of heart: she claimed she would now advise her family member to return the people’s money to the people. Radio provides a relatively safe medium where citizens are often willing to speak more freely than in other public spaces or in front of budget-holders. Furthermore, in the Cameroonian context, radio is by far the best medium in terms of empowering people to share their views and make their cases to a wide audience. If aired for longer periods, radio programs such as If Na You‘s session on budget transparency are very effective at increasing awareness of the importance of open books and officials who are accountable to citizens. Conscious of the limitations of budgets to mobilize and engage Secondary school students formed budget clubs and people, entertaining plays were staged during budget dissemi- were invited to participate in an arts competition. The bud- nation meetings to promote budget transparency and citizen get clubs provided a forum for interested students to discuss interest in public expenditure matters in an engaging way. Three issues related to governance and budget transparency at their story lines were written by SNV and shared with ten secondary schools and in their communities. In several cases, the clubs school theater clubs, which developed plays based on one of asked their local community radios to host discussions around them, lured by a prize for the top three performances. The use school budget issues and governance problems. of theater added some spice to an effort that risked otherwise An arts competition was held in NWR, inviting students from being a dull deliberative affair. across the region to submit essays, poems, or drawings related In addition to imparting the importance of budget transpar- to budget transparency and its importance for good gover- nance. Over 200 students participated and three were awarded ency in a creative and playful way, the theater performances monetary prizes for their entries. had two benefits. Announced ahead of meetings, they have considerably increased attendance. Furthermore, theater loos- A Facebook page dedicated to the BTI was created on ened the mood of gathered crowds, resulting in a more wel- which observations and information were shared and activi- coming environment for discussing issues that can be sensitive. ties announced. With over 2,000 “friends,” the page has turned 7 to the fullest extent possible while conforming to the World Bank’s procurement and reporting requirements posed one of the most important challenges, especially given the impact a poor choice could have made. In many countries, an implement- ing partner with all the desired characteristics might be difficult to find, and compromises will likely have to be made. Constraints to Effective Dissemination of Budget Information within the Administration Poor collaboration between mayors and service-delivery units undermines services. Collaboration between mayors and public service providers, notably health institutions and schools, was found to be sorely wanting in both Adamawa and NWR. Many health center directors and school principals were unaware of the government credits allocated to the councils for invest- ments in the health and education sectors, let alone of the exact amounts spent on particular investment projects.8 Similarly, ex- into an active forum where people from both inside and out- post control is weak, and at primary schools rendered difficult side Cameroon could post information about budget transpar- because there is no standard accounting system. ency and governance more generally. The Facebook page was also used to announce the arts competition previously men- A lack of coordination between different authorities tioned. Thus, despite Cameroon’s low internet penetration, inhibits effective financial planning by local councils. Budget the Facebook page effectively complemented more traditional allocations are often unknown until the end of the fiscal year, media in conveying messages about budget transparency and and the budget process is poorly synchronized with the national was well received mostly by younger people. one, with local councils being expected to prepare their bud- gets before knowing their allocations from the central govern- An open book certification scheme was introduced. To ment.9 Therefore, planning is generally weak, with no apparent ensure a minimum standard of budget transparency at schools, link between performance, needs, and investment-budget SNV, together with the relevant regional delegations in NWR, allocations. launched a scheme that awarded all schools conforming to a number of criteria related to budget transparency an open book Modern Information and Communication Technologies certificate. (ICTs) are rarely harnessed to increase transparency. Local authorities make very little—if any—use of modern technolo- gies to communicate with citizens and disseminate information. Key Findings and Challenges The one medium used, albeit very sparsely, is radio. Internet and This section describes key findings and challenges that emerged mobile-phone technology (SMS) are not usually marshaled by when promoting budget transparency in schools, health centers, local councils as communication tools, mostly due to capacity and local councils in NWR and Adamawa. While the following and financial constraints. While the Internet might not be opti- observations are based on these two project regions, many of mal to reach large swathes of the population, especially in rural the highlighted issues are likely to occur in one form or another areas, the potential of radio broadcasts to better disseminate in other contexts as well. information is great but insufficiently tapped. Finding suitable implementing partner organizations School fees, which are common in Cameroon, are not that can mobilize citizens and work with government is a collected in a transparent manner. While primary education major challenge. Contracting a partner organization with expe- is supposed to be free of charge in Cameroon, parents who are rience in social accountability work and a strong presence on deemed able to contribute by the community face charges in the ground that would allow it to successfully mobilize people some form or another, either through contributions to the PTA as well as a willingness to work with government and the experi- or some other form of unofficial school fee. The way registra- ence and dexterity necessary to use government counterparts tion fees are collected is often opaque, and funds are often 8 poorly accounted for, if at all. Similarly, the handling of fees at secondary schools is not transparent either. Government’s monitoring budgets do not suffice to allow inspection of all institutions, but data collected under the BTI helped inspectors prioritize visits. Inspectors of schools and health centers have insufficient budgets to fulfill their regu- lar monitoring duties, transport costs being a main constraint. Some inspectors stated that the data collected with the sim- plified budget templates helped them monitor institutions by allowing them to prioritize the ones whose templates contained discrepancies or revealed poor performance. Thus, the data col- lected in the course of the BTI provided useful information to overstretched inspectors about where to take action. Mayors are often reluctant to open their books to the pub- lic. Convincing mayors to participate in budget dissemination activities proved particularly difficult, especially when the bud- get under their control was involved. The most common way to disseminate local council budget information—through councilors—is ineffective. One of the main ways that mayors claim to disseminate budget information Traditions circumscribe the prospects to promote trans- is through elected councilors. However, further probing revealed parency and the extent to which citizens are willing to criti- that the councilors are not effectively fulfilling this role, often cize authority figures. Inevitably, social and cultural norms because they do not live among constituencies or because of shape the way in which public discussions unfold, particularly their unfamiliarity with budgets and the budget process. with regard to subjects as touchy as the probity and adequacy Because of low capacity, it is necessary to train heads of of expenditures. In Cameroon, particularly in Adamawa, respect institutions on filling out budget templates. Even with well- for hierarchy and established authority runs deep, which makes designed budget templates, the people filling them out could encouraging people to ask critical questions and creating envi- misunderstand them and thus fill them out incorrectly without ronments in which people feel comfortable to do so difficult. In training. In NWR, workshops were organized to train officials addition, customary gender roles are not conducive for women from the pilot institutions on how to fill out the forms. But even taking the floor in public. after these trainings, mistakes were common, and the filled-out Change in the prevailing social norms (e.g., steep hierarchies templates had to be inspected by regional delegates and/or the and women’s subordinated role in public deliberations) is an implementing NGOs to ensure that relevant information was intrinsic objective of the BTI and an intended result of public correctly entered. dissemination meetings. Nevertheless, prevailing social norms must be taken into account by facilitators with necessary tact, Citizens’ Readiness for and Reaction to and interventions should be designed accordingly. Budget Transparency Activities Breaching language and conceptual barriers is a major People are often unaware of the role and functions of local challenge. Communicating in local languages is key to overcom- councils. In the course of public meetings to disseminate the ing language barriers. Experience in Adamawa demonstrated budgets of local councils, it became clear that many citizens that interpreters facilitated the transmission of messages to had only a rudimentary understanding of the council’s budget audiences but this did not by any means guarantee a response processes and the council’s role in general. While awareness of or any kind of two-way rapport or dialogue. In fact, partici- the role and functioning of local councils varied considerably pants often perceived the use of an interpreter as demeaning. between different councils, it was evident that sensitization If facilitators with mastery of the local language are unavail- about local council remits was necessary. able, it is crucial that translators with the ability to break down 9 First, the initiative has, through its radio broadcasts, post- ers, public meetings, and collaboration with public officials, “This project has created a lot of awareness in secondary raised the awareness of a number of key issues, including: (1) the education—awareness at the level of the parents, awareness at importance of budget transparency; (2) the role and responsi- the level of teachers, awareness at the level of the administrators, bilities of public institutions; (3) the constraints often faced by and above all, awareness among the students. Our students have officials; and (4) the importance of performance indicators and realized that there is a lot that happens around schools. They their linkage to expenditures. didn’t know that all that happens at school is centered around them. They are the center and the main financer of activities.” Second, the initiative has increased budget transparency by simplifying and disseminating budgets of the targeted Pius Fundoh, Regional Chief of Material, Infrastructure, institutions. Maintenance of School Equipment, MINESEC, Bamenda Third, by creating forums in which citizens could engage officials on budgetary issues in public and empowering them such barriers are present in order to foster active discussions. to raise issues and ask questions, the initiative has increased Further, concepts such as transparency and accountability might accountability of public officials to citizens. be novel for many people; therefore, these concepts should be Fourth, the initiative has helped uncover discrepancies in introduced before the actual discussion. several instances and unearthed at least one case of corruption. Discussions observed at secondary schools were gen- The citizen feedback galvanized by the BTI has also revealed erally of higher quality than those at other institutions. several instances of inefficient and outright wasteful spending Although, generally speaking, parents are not in the habit of and brought it to the attention of civil servants in face-to-face inquiring about school finances or getting involved in school- conversations. However, no legal sanctions of officials have related matters beyond issues specifically concerning their own been reported. children, discussions at school dissemination meetings were Finally, several public officials—and mayors in particular— lively. At the secondary schools, these spirited discussions were, have reported improved relations with their constituents and in large part, due to the keen interest taken by participating increased trust between citizens and themselves. student representatives, demonstrated by their often perti- nent questions about fees and expenditures. Secondary school Since survey-based evaluation methods, not to mention ran- students, present at the meetings by default if they are orga- domized trials with control groups, were not feasible given the nized during school hours, are old enough to understand the financial constraints of the project,10 all the results gathered are issues at stake and, in many cases, might be better educated based on anecdotal evidence. Both implementing partners were than their parents and therefore in a position to make key con- instructed to ask different stakeholders about the results of the tributions to discussions. In contrast, interest in participating at initiative every time they visited the target areas and to docu- budget dissemination meetings at health centers was meager, ment their findings. Where possible, these results were verified possibly because most people only interact with health centers through interviews during supervision missions. on a sporadic basis (i.e., due to illness or injury) while parents Awareness of the importance of budget transparency and students have a more consistent stake in the functioning of increased. Many of the activities implemented under the ini- schools and citizens in the affairs of local councils. Furthermore, tiative are heavily geared toward sensitizing citizens and public it seems relatively common for people to resort to privately-run officials on the importance of open books, about the citizen’s clinics, and this might decrease people’s interest in public health right to know, and about the duty of officials to account for providers. how public money is spent. This basic message has been dis- seminated through posters, meetings, theater performances, Results and radio broadcasts, and has therefore reached a large number of people. Public awareness of the importance of budget dis- Despite the challenges described in the previous section, the closure increased in the two project regions. efforts to promote budget transparency in Adamawa and NWR have yielded promising results, including the public questioning Citizens’ understanding of the role of the targeted of officials and the discovery of corrupt practices. Five types of public institutions also increased. Citizens’ awareness of results were achieved. the responsibilities and remits of local councils was often 10 limited, particularly in Adamawa. Budget dissemination meet- ings included explanations about the role of local councils and “My staff is no more exigent. In the past, they would ask for councilors, thus increasing awareness in this regard as well. school material thinking that I was keeping those away from People have become more aware of the constraints fac- them. Today, they know when and what we receive as “minimum ing officials as well as of possible ways to relax them. A package.” For example, they know that the head master has crucial result of the described activities and the public budget received two pens and after these have been given out, they do dissemination meetings in particular was that, in addition to giv- not come back for more, knowing that, only two pens were sent ing citizens insights into the revenues and expenditures of insti- to the school.” tutions, they afforded public officials an opportunity to explain the constraints they face doing their jobs. For instance, the Mr.Tekeu Leon, Head Master, Public Primary School, administration of the Government Secondary School Nsongwa Military Camp Bamenda could credibly convey to parents impatient with the develop- ment of the school that their margin to maneuver was bound by the quantity and timing of investment credits sent to the scrutiny of officials and, ideally, to stop any incipient schemes school by higher-level authorities. Another common source of to embezzle funds. The BTI has, according to officials, unearthed misunderstanding related to the amount of investment credits at least one outright case of embezzlement and brought to light allocated to schools, because they are usually reported in gross several other instances where funds were not accounted for terms while the final value at the disposal of schools—the net properly. of taxes and profits for government determined contractors— The inspector of secondary schools in NWR became sus- is only 65 percent of the allocated credits. picious when he noticed that the budget template of one Awareness of the importance to link budgets and expen- secondary school listed some fees that were not called for in ditures with performance indicators has risen. Because all the law. In addition to a lump-sum fee covering expenses for the budget templates administered to the pilot institutions laboratory and home economics classes, the principal collected contained fields for both financial information and performance separate fees for these two items. After an investigation, the targets, the mere process of training authorities in filling them representative of the Regional Delegate found that the principal out spurred discussions and increased awareness of the impor- had collected an extra 10 million FCFA from students by “double tance of performance targets. Awareness about linking perfor- dipping.” Due to retire three months after this was revealed, he mance targets with realistic expectations of available resources was forced to return the sum before retiring. was also enhanced. Another irregularity uncovered in another secondary school The levels of both transparency and accountability involved a registration fee reported by the bursar that did not increased. Because of the BTI, budgets of the 237 pilot insti- correspond to the actual payments made by students. When tutions became more transparent, providing insights to many the bursar reported during the dissemination meeting that stu- people into the financial bowels of those institutions for the dents pay FCFA 15,000, the school prefect objected and insisted first time. Also, in many instances, people used the platforms that they actually pay FCFA 17,500. The principal, apparently created to engage with officials through radio or at public unaware of the difference, asked the bursar for an explana- meetings to ask pertinent and difficult questions, thus exact- tion. She explained that the extra money was for contingencies. ing accountability in the most direct way possible from those Unsatisfied, the principal demanded that she provide a bet- responsible for public money. “Accountability” is, according to ter explanation at a later time. While this outcome might not Abakar Ahamat, the Governor of Adamawa, “an obligation of transparency; transparency vis-à-vis citizens, transparency vis- à-vis oneself and transparency vis-à-vis the state. State agents have the obligation to be transparent in the manner in which “We made it [BTI] look like a product that you are advertising they manage state finances.” and everybody wants to be a part of it.” Instances of corruption were unearthed, and in one case, Pius Fundoh, Regional Chief of Material, Infrastructure, Maintenance of led to the return of the embezzled funds. A key aim of bud- School Equipment , MINESEC, Bamenda get transparency is to root out corruption through increased 11 appear satisfactory, the example does illustrate how disclosure part”11 which is often unclear to staff. The reading aloud of bud- empowers citizens—in this case secondary school students— gets by chiefs of centers was therefore seen by many staff as a to scrutinize officials and, if nothing else, to shame them if they necessary step toward shining a light on the matter and improv- lie. If done regularly, this alone might discourage petty corrup- ing relations among themselves. tion by low-level officials. The willingness of citizens to contribute fees and taxes Stakeholders in schools, health centers, and local coun- changed after receiving information about the finances of cils have reported greater trust between officials and institutions. One of the hypothesized and most frequently- ordinary citizens as a result of opening up budgets and evoked benefits of budget transparency is that, due to greater discussing financial matters in public forums. If trust is the trust, citizens will be more willing to pay taxes and/or fees for opposite of fear, the common adage that “if you have nothing services. But it is noteworthy that while the BTI has resulted in to hide, you have nothing to fear” implies that increased bud- this outcome at one local council, a school actually experienced get transparency should result in greater trust in those manag- a decline in PTA collections from parents. ing the finances of public institutions. After promoting budget Revenues increased in the local council of Ngaoundéré III, transparency for several months through the BTI, this assertion where efforts to raise tax from cattle owners had, until recently, is validated by numerous stakeholders exposed to the initiative. fallen flat. However, after a BTI-induced community meet- A case in point is a mayor whose relations with the com- ing at which the budget was disseminated and the population munity improved markedly after participating in a call-in informed of the importance of taxes to fund the functioning of radio session during which budget issues were discussed and the council and infrastructure, the council witnessed the first- callers’ questions were answered by him. In particular, he cites ever payment of the tax in 2012. According to an official from an exchange in which a caller questioned his pledge to build Ngaoundéré III, 4,021 cattle were declared after the meeting the foundation of a bridge that, according to a prior agreement, and, consequently, 763,400 CFA francs were raised. would then be completed by the community. In his response to Shedding light on budgets has also resulted in changes to the caller, the mayor invited anyone who had doubts about his parent contributions to schools in the form of fees. Although fulfillment of the pledge to join him on a visit to the bridge so primary education is supposed to be free for all, parents often that citizens could confirm that he had done his part and that pay fees to fund the expenditures of resource-starved schools— the reason for the holdup was a lack of promised contributions from classrooms and benches to teacher salaries, usually as by citizens. part of their PTA contributions. They also pay for schoolbooks, It is not only trust between officials and citizens that can uniforms, and so on. However, as the parents of Government increase as a result of open books; the same is true within insti- Primary School Military Camp Bamenda discovered, the state tutions. Feedback from schools indicates that dialogue among does, in fact, provide money for many of these items and, in administrators has improved and trust increased since the initia- the case of the said school, they deemed the allocations suffi- tive. This is not surprising, given that principals and PTA presi- cient to cover the institution’s needs for 2011–12. As a result, they dents do not usually know about the budget managed by the reduced their annual PTA contributions from 2,000 to 1,000 CFA other, making the coordination of spending difficult and pos- francs. Following this, the administration observed an increase sibly leading to recriminations. The sharing of both the PTA in the number of pupils with textbooks and uniforms. They sur- and the school budgets in dissemination meetings immediately mised that the lower fees levied on parents allowed some of eliminates a potential source of mistrust. In Health Centers too, them to spend more on those items. If so, this suggests how a main bone of contention is the distribution of the “quote transparency enhances efficiency by empowering citizens to ensure funds are geared toward the most pressing needs. In addition to fees, the BTI-facilitated public meetings “I think that the truth is bitter but should be spoken… resulted in potential new revenues for some secondary schools The money we receive from government is small to manage by clarifying that proceeds from the sale of goods produced a school for the whole year. So, when you are accountable and by students in workshops must go to the school. Similarly, rev- tell people the truth, they trust you.” enues from school gardens where students cultivate agricultural products should flow into the school’s budget, but often they Headmaster Government School Alankie do not. Public meetings in which all school revenues must be 12 disclosed provide extra leverage for principals to demand that teachers account for any money earned from student products “The budget transparency initiative on our campus makes us and produce. students feel that we are important.” Cases of poor prioritization and waste of resources were revealed because of BTI. If budgets are transparent and people Nsangou Farida, student and School Prefect in Government Technical are informed about where money flows, they can provide feed- High School Bamenda back on the priorities set by officials and potentially effect a reprioritization of spending to better align it with their needs. At a budget dissemination session at Government Technical key to use the governor’s office and authority to remedy the High School Bamenda, students vociferously pointed out what situation. Therefore, if there is high-level support for budget they deemed to be the wrong priorities of the administration. transparency, it should be actively harnessed to maximize coop- Using PTA funds to build a new fence around the school’s cam- eration further down the hierarchy. pus to keep students from skipping school seemed wasteful to Identifying good partners among lower-ranking officials who some students, when classrooms and benches were in scarce monitor service-delivery points and are employed by line min- supply and the multimedia center out of operation as the com- istries is also extremely important. These officials have intimate puters had not been repaired. They also voiced that it is not fair knowledge of the service-delivery points (such as schools and to spend money to keep recalcitrant students in class at the health centers) and the authority to nudge reluctant directors, expense of the majority who want to study but are not given principals, and the like to participate in budget transparency the necessary means to do so. activities. In Cameroon, some regional delegates personally Other inefficiencies and outright waste were frequently facilitated a number of budget dissemination meetings, a suc- voiced in budget dissemination sessions, including consistently- cessful strategy if the delegate has the right skills. The inclusion raised complaints about medical booklets that students were of officials in the process of disseminating budget information obliged to purchase—even though it was not recognized by is a prerequisite to sustainability. In addition, demand for these public or private hospitals and thus brought no benefit to the activities from citizens and/or civil society must be actively nur- students. tured so that pressure to disseminate budget information per- sists after the project ends. Student budget clubs were created to give interested students forums to articulate and organize Implications for future efforts to increase their demands for disclosure and better governance beyond the budget transparency scope of the project. The key to sustainability lies in a combi- The results described above demonstrate the great potential of nation of pressure from the top and the bottom as well as the budget transparency activities to unearth problems and increase existence of a number of dedicated officials motivated to keep accountability. To make the change last, however, budgets must the process alive, who regularly interact with the target institu- be simplified and repeatedly disseminated—that is, the process tions in the course of their work day. must be institutionalized. Based on the experience from imple- Institutionalize activities by securing dedicated personnel menting the BTI, the following recommendations are offered to and/or funds from the government. While difficult to accom- provide guidance for governments and development partners plish, ideally, if personnel and/or funds exclusively dedicated to interested in promoting budget transparency at the subnational budget transparency activities are secured. Otherwise, officials level. may be unable to allocate a sufficient amount of time for the Take advantage of high-level support but also include activities or be hampered by resources constraints. Similarly, lower-ranking government officials and civil society/citizens covering the costs of field inspections is often challenging in to increase effectiveness and sustainability. In Cameroon, the Cameroon. Unless there are earmarked funds for expenses like respective governors sent letters to mayors, principals, and these, officials may not be able to participate to the extent nec- essary to achieve successful outcomes. health center managers to inform them of upcoming BTI activi- ties and assigned focal points to facilitate interactions with the Invest sufficient time and effort in the design of tem- heads of the various pilot institutions for different sectors. plates for simplified budgets. Designing templates to capture When focal points did not perform their assigned role, it was simplified budget information can be a time-consuming and 13 tedious process. It requires an understanding of the way funds flow through the government apparatus and of local bookkeep- ing practices. It also requires a discerning eye for the appropriate level of aggregation that will keep it simple but still relevant. Since the quality of the information disseminated largely depends on getting this step right, sufficient time and resources should be spent on it. Align budget dissemination meetings with regularly scheduled meetings of institutions, such as PTA meetings, health management committee meetings, or local council sessions. Given the transaction and financial costs involved in mobilizing people to attend public meetings, synergies with regularly-scheduled meetings or other public events should be sought and used whenever possible. This improves the likeli- hood that the effort will be sustainable. Engage in concerted sensitization and information cam- Use drama or other educational entertainment to ani- paigns prior to dissemination meetings. All stakeholders who mate meetings. Dry as budgets are, drama and other artistic will be actively involved in the dissemination meetings should ways of conveying a message about the importance of budget be contacted, sensitized, and, if necessary, trained to fulfill transparency can be highly effective at engaging people and their roles, well ahead of dissemination meetings. Documents animating discussions. In Cameroon drama also proved to be describing the roles of different stakeholders should be pre- pared. Citizens, in turn, should be sensitized through poster an effective vehicle for approaching topics that may have been campaigns and radio programs. Radio is, in fact, often the most too sensitive to have otherwise been discussed. Therefore, in effective medium for information campaigns in developing environments with modest traditions of citizen participation, countries because of its cost-effectiveness, wide reach, and the this could be of particular value. Finally, the project team found somewhat ubiquitous existence of community radio stations that drama was a very effective way to increase the attendance and radio stations that broadcast in local languages. Budget- of women at dissemination meetings. holders can be invited on radio programs and call-in sessions Use social media. A Facebook page was established to share can be held to kick-start a conversation ahead of actual meet- information, announce events, and interact with citizens. Social ings. Times and locations of the dissemination sessions should media like Facebook is an inexpensive and effective tool for be announced on the radio repeatedly. reaching out to large numbers of people, particularly young, Include traditional and religious authorities as well as educated citizens. However, a lack of Internet access for many elected representatives to mobilize citizens. They can be people in most developing countries should be kept in mind as important allies in mobilizing people to attend dissemination should the fact that moderating a Facebook page with many meetings. In many contexts, the traditional and religious author- followers and hence considerable traffic can be very time- ities have as much or more authority in communities as pub- consuming. On the other hand, the BTI Facebook page (with its lic officials. In fact, in Cameroon, officials advised to announce 2,138 “friends”) allowed the team to remotely supervise activi- meetings and spread information in churches, mosques, and ties under the pilot. through town criers. In addition, recourse to local elected offi- cials—such as local councilors—to spread the word about the impending activities and to sensitize people may be benefi- cial. That being said, all of these actors may first need training and sensitization about budget transparency-related issues for themselves in order to serve as effective intermediaries. 14 References Links Budget Transparency Initiative (2012). “Budget Transparency Initiative Cameroon.” BTI materials (including budget templates): Report for Phase II.” Unpublished report. http://connect.worldbank.org/explore/SDV/DFGG/Shared%20Documents/ Budget%20Transparency.aspx INC. 2012. “Public Expenditure Management Reform through Budget Publication and other Social Accountability Approaches,” Integrity Network Cameroon BTI Facebook page: Unpublished Report. https://www.facebook.com/#!/budgettransparencyinitiative.cameroon?fref=ts ———. 2013. “Public Expenditure Management Reform through Budget Publication and other Social Accountability Approaches, Phase II” Integrity Network Notes Cameroon Final Report, Unpublished Report. 1. See the World Bank’s Country Assistance Strategy for the Republic of Cameroon for the period FY10–FY13. Institut National de la Statistique, Republique du Cameroun. 2010. Second Survey on the Monitoring of Public Expenditures and the Level of Recipients’ Satisfaction 2. The population density of NWR is 111,1/km2 versus 15,4/km2 in Adamawa. in the Education and Health Sectors. 3. Based on data from ECAM 3 (2007) and Census (2005). Konings, P., and F.B. Nyamnjoh, 2004. “President Paul Biya and the ‘Anglophone 4. While the selection included both easily accessible and remote institutions, for purely practical and financial reasons, the former were given some preference. Problem’ in Cameroon.” In The Leadership Challenge in Africa: Cameroon under Paul Biya, edited by J.M. Mbaku and J. Takougang, pp. 191–234. Africa World Press. 5. In Phase II of the initiative, a local consultant, Dr. Patrick Okwen, who was SNV’s coordinator for the BTI in NWR, expanded the activities initiated by SNV-Cameroon. SNV. 2012. “Public Expenditure Management Reform through Budget Publication 6. The average attendance was 62 people. and other Social Accountability Approaches in the North West Region of 7. There was an average of 24 people per meeting. Cameroon,” Final report presented to World Bank, Netherlands Development 8. Since 1996, Cameroon has witnessed a protracted decentralization process; as a Organization. result, local councils have been increasingly responsible for the provision of basic World Bank. 2012. “Cameroon—The Path to Fiscal Decentralization: Opportunities health and education services. and Challenges.” World Bank, Washington, DC. https://openknowledge.world- For instance, in 2009, only 25.3 percent of secondary school officials, and 18.3 per- bank.org/handle/10986/11875. cent of primary school officials in rural areas of Cameroon were informed of their operating budgets prior to the arrival of the resources; in urban areas, the figures ———. 2010. Country Assistance Strategy for the Republic of Cameroon for the were 20.8 percent and 13.0 percent, respectively. The figures are even lower for Period FY10–13.” Report No. 52997-CM, International Development Association investment budgets: 18.5 percent for rural secondary schools and 13.5 percent for World Bank, Washington DC. urban ones. See Institut National de la Statistique, Republique du Cameroun. 2010. 9. See also “Cameroon: The Path to Fiscal Decentralization, Opportunities and Challenges” (World Bank 2012) for an in-depth discussion of this problem. 10. The BTI activities in Cameroon cost approximately US$320,000, including mission costs but excluding World Bank staff time. 11. The “quote part” is a performance-based bonus paid to health center staff. 15 This learning note was prepared by Martin Luis Alton and Sanjay Agarwal of the Social Development Department (SDV) at the World Bank. It is based on reports submitted by SNV–Cameroon, Integrity Network Cameroon, and several consultants who worked on various activities under the Governance Partnership Facility-funded Budget Transparency Initiative. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Yoseph Abdissa, Abel Bove, Gregor Binkert, Robert Chase, Mary Barton- Dock, Olivier P. Godron, Helene Grandvoinnet, Corinne Ilgun, Daniel Murphy, Victoire Ngounoue, Vincent Perrot, Cia Sjetnan, Raju Singh, Nicola Smithers, Vera Songwe, Shobhana Sosale, and Serdar Yilmaz for their invaluable contributions, guidance and comments during the course of the initiative; and finally, to Laura Johnson for her editorial design support and Rachel Roth, TechChange for the illustrations. The authors would like to thank the Governance Partnership Facility (GPF) for supporting the activities under this initiative. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this note are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. For additional information on this and other pilots under the Budget Transparency Initiative, please contact Sanjay Agarwal (sagarwal2@worldbank.org).