Question 134

Are participation mechanisms incorporated into the timetable for formulating the Executive’s Budget Proposal?
 * a. Yes, the executive incorporates participation into its timetable for formulating the Executive’s Budget Proposal and the timetable is available to the public.
 * b. The requirements for an “a” response are not met.
 * c. Not applicable (please comment).

OBS Guidelines
This question reflects the GIFT principles on “Sustainability,” “Timeliness” and “Complementarity” and addresses whether the executive is able to link participation mechanisms to the administrative processes that are used to create the annual budget.

Please note that “timetable” refers to a document setting deadlines for submissions from other government entities, such as line ministries or subnational government, to the Ministry of Finance or whatever central government agency is in charge of coordinating the budget’s formulation. This document is sometimes referred to as the budget calendar and is the same document referenced in Question 53.

Answer “a” applies if the national executive establishes a clear set of guidelines that enable citizens and civil servants to understand when participation mechanisms should be used to enable citizen inputs to be incorporated into the annual budget. For answer choice “a”, the timetable must be available to the public prior to the budget preparation process beginning.

Answer “b” applies if the executive does not establish a clear set of guidelines that enable citizens and civil servants to understand when participation mechanisms should be used to enable citizen inputs to be incorporated into the annual budget or if the executive does not use public participation mechanisms during the budget formulation or implementation stage.