Dar es Salaam: A non-governmental organisation has introduced a simplified version of the government budget for the 2010/11 financial year. Called the ‘Citizens' budget', the version by the Policy Forum eliminates language barriers to enable ordinary people to better understand the budget execution process.  Policy Forum chairman Moses Kulaba said the goal was to encourage citizens' interest and involvement in the government budgeting.

The forum is a network of over 100 civil society organisations. It believes making budgetary information more accessible to the public encourages interest and participation in deciding how their money is acquired and spent.

Mr Kulaba said ‘Citizens' budgets' had been working well in Uganda and South Africa. However, he noted that the Citizens' budget would not replace the government budget. "It is only a supplement that makes the information more accessible," he said.

The forum hopes the government will also be simplifying its budget to improve budget transparency.

*  The Swahili version can be accessed here: http://www.policyforum-tz.org/node/7588