Public Finance Data and Analysis
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The 2023 End Year Budget Promises Assessment monitored progress and openness of 25 highest-value expenditure proposals in the 2023 budget speech, with a total allocation of LKR 49.3 billion.
Transparency Alert: Ministries’ Lack of Disclosure
Ministries have proactively disclosed information on progress for only 4% of the budget promises for 2023 and 2022, despite mandatory requirements under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to disclose such information. This represents an alarming lack of transparency, down from an already low level of 23% in 2021. The 2023 end-year Budget Promises study by Verité Research highlights this critical issue and identifies the Ministry of Fisheries as the only Ministry that performed exceptionally well to proactively disclose information on progress.
'Unclaimed Promises': A New Category for the Budget Promises Assessment
‘Unclaimed Promises’ is a new category introduced on the Budget Promises Dashboard of PublicFinance.LK. This category was created because there were two proposals in the 2023 Budget for which no public authority took responsibility. Discovering what these two proposals were and understanding what it means for them to be ‘unclaimed’ provides a deeper insight into the gaps in accountability within our budgetary system.
Four Fixes for Better Budgeting
The 2023 end-year Budget Promises study by Verité Research reveals that accountability and transparency in Sri Lanka’s annual budget promises are alarmingly low. However, change is possible with four quick fixes that require no new institutions or new laws. These simple yet powerful solutions can drive better transparency and accountability in our public finance management.
For more information about the proposals tracked, responsible agencies and other findings, visit the online dashboard ‘Budget Promises’, housed under the PublicFinance.lk platform of Verité Research: https://dashboards.publicfinance.lk/budget-promises/
For other related insights and detailed analyses, check out the Progress unknown of budget proposals which account for 89% of allocated funds: Verité Research (publicfinance.lk)
