This briefing paper makes the case for the introduction of a Citizens Budget for Namibia. Such an easy-to-read, simple overview of the budget highlights would allow a larger share of Namibians to understand the National Budget and make their voices heard when it comes to formulating its priorities.

The current Namibian budget documents provide a great deal of information, but they are difficult to navigate and often use technical language. A Citizens Budget would not only be more accessible, it would also contain concrete measures to be undertaken, not just sums of money. Drawing on best practices from other countries, as well as information from the Namibian National Budget 2009/10 – 2011/12, this paper contains an example of a Citizens Budget for Namibia.

Introduction

Not many people would argue with the concept of budget transparency. A government takes money from taxpayers, and should therefore be accountable to them. The non-taxpaying public should also know as much as possible about the government’s spending plans to ensure its needs are met. Even governments themselves should push for transparency, as it allows the voting public to give feedback on its spending priorities and – if necessary – make adjustments, thereby increasing a government’s chances of staying in office.

In practice, of course, things are not quite as clear: people with vested interests may want to keep certain information from public scrutiny, opinions differ whether certain spending items need to be kept confidential, the cost of disseminating information may impose restrictions, and so on. This paper deals with a specific type of lack of transparency: what if plenty of budget information is made available to the public, but if the documents are too voluminous and complicated to be understood by ordinary people? That is the situation of Namibia.

We would like to make the case for a Citizens Budget – a simple, lean budget document that sums up the National Budget, highlighting the most relevant points for the man and woman in the street and in the fields. It would thus serve as a means of achieving greater public engagement with Namibia’s budget process. Based on 2009/10’s National Budget, a short example of what a Citizens Budget for Namibia could look like has been drawn up at the end of this briefing paper.