Recommending to Oblige Municipalities to Prepare and Publish Legible Budgets
AMAN Coalition calls on Gaza’s Ministry of Local Government to show them the report of the Ministry’s General Budget Department in order to review the budgets of local authorities
Gaza – The Coalition for Accountability and Integrity (AMAN) requested the Ministry of Local Government to show them the report of the Ministry’s General Budget Department, in order to review the budgets of local authorities. In this context, they recommended to oblige municipalities to prepare and publish legible budgets and set a timetable for budget preparation and publication. This was done to avoid any delays in publishing legible budgets (as happened in previous years) and enhance transparency and citizens’ right to access general reports related to public affairs and funds.
The Coalition’s demand came after the Ministry of Local Government announced the end of discussions on local authority budgets of 2023. AMAN consistently strives to consolidate an environment of integrity, transparency, and accountability in local bodies, whereas the said Coalition achieved fruitful results by means of cooperation with local authorities in this field.
AMAN Coalition also sent its report of September 2022 to the Ministry of Local Government. This report analyzed the municipalities’ level of commitment to the indicators of preparing and publishing legible budgets in the Gaza Strip. The Coalition asked the Ministry to read that report and review and consider the recommendations included therein. Among these recommendations was to institutionalize the work of preparing and publishing legible budgets by adopting a formal decision in this regard, in order to oblige municipalities to prepare and publish such budgets. Recommendations also included setting a timetable (timeframe) for budget preparation and publication, as well as involving the community in all stages of budget preparation by building a system of community engagement and integrated financial accountability in a way that encompasses participatory budgeting, legible budgets, and expenditure tracking.
