NAMIBIA: BUDGET TRANSPARENCY

UNCLAS WINDHOEK 000135 SENSITIVE SIPDIS EEB/IFD/OMA JULIA JACOBY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON PREL WA SUBJECT: NAMIBIA: BUDGET TRANSPARENCY REF: STATE 28885 ¶1. (U) The Namibian government makes its annual budget publicly available on an annual basis. Responses to specific questions about the budget are keyed to the questions in paragraph three of reftel. Question 1. Is the central government expected to receive or is it already receiving U.S. foreign assistance funded using FY 09 funds? Yes. The Namibian government is receiving U.S. foreign assistance funds in FY09, and will in FY10 as well. Question 2. Is the host country's budget publicly available? Yes. The Namibian Ministry of Finance publishes its budget on-line. The FY09/10 budget is available at http://www.mof.na/budget.htm Question 3. Are incomes and expenditures included in the publicly-available budget? Yes. Government revenue (incomes) and expenditures are included in the publicly-available budget. The Namibian government's publicly-available budget generally reflects accurately government incomes and expenditures. ¶2. (U) The Open Budget Survey (www.openbudgetindex.org) gave Namibia a score of 47 percent on its scale of budget transparency, placing Namibia slightly above the median score. The Open Budget Survey report states that the Namibian government gives "significant information to the public, meaning citizens have a comprehensive picture of the government's plans for taxes and spending for the upcoming year." The report, however, criticizes the Namibian government for making it difficult to "track spending, revenue collection and borrowing during the year." The report also notes that annual accountability reports are incomplete, and that it is not clear whether suggested improvements, from previous accountability reports, have been implemented. MATHIEU