2013年-世界发展银行全球_A_Local_Budget_Transparency_Index_for_Cameroons_Local_Councils___Insights_from_a_Benchmarking_Exercise_20页_1mb

报告摘要

Summary of the Local Budget Transparency Index (LBTI) Pilot in Cameroon

Core Content

The document outlines the development and implementation of a Local Budget Transparency Index (LBTI) in two regions of Cameroon—Northwest and Adamawa—as part of a World Bank-supported initiative. The goal of the LBTI is to assess and promote budget transparency at the local level, which is essential for good governance, accountability, and public participation in resource allocation and policy decisions.

The LBTI was designed to evaluate the openness of local council budget processes, using a customized questionnaire with 15 questions grouped into six categories. The index was used to rank councils, with results published and, in Adamawa, discussed in public forums involving mayors and the media. The pilot aimed to identify best practices, encourage competition among mayors, and strengthen accountability at the local level.

Main Findings

Budget Transparency and Public Access

Enacted budgets are available to citizens in all councils except one.
In 2011, roughly half of the councils in both regions provided budget summaries and year-end reports.
This number increased in Adamawa in 2012, while it remained stable in the Northwest.
Audit reports are still rarely available, indicating a major gap in transparency.

Performance of Local Councils

In Round 1, 26 out of 31 councils in the Northwest and 19 out of 19 in Adamawa provided data.
In Round 2, 29 out of 31 councils in the Northwest and 21 out of 21 in Adamawa participated, showing a high response rate.
The ranking of councils varied significantly between the two rounds, likely due to differences in methodology.
The range of scores narrowed in both regions, with a substantial reduction in Adamawa.

Example Rankings

Council Name	Round 1 Points	Round 2 Points	Change	Rank
Banyo	26.32	41	+14.7	1
Mayo Baleo	42.74	37.6	-5.1	4
Nyambeka	15.8	34.2	+18.4	5
Meiganga	0	33.7	+33.7	7
Ngaoundere III	16.91	34.0	+17.1	6
Ngaoundere II	20.2	29.6	+9.4	13
Mayo-Darle	4.74	31.6	+26.9	10
Kontcha	15.77	29.6	+13.8	15
Ngaoundal	28.54	27.2	-1.3	16
Dir	32.31	23.8	-8.5	17

Key Categories and Scoring

The LBTI questionnaire was divided into six categories:

Document availability (3 points)
Document dissemination (5 points)
Forecast quality (8 points)
Information granularity (15 points)
Public consultation (10 points)
Ex-post control (9 points)
Total score: 50 points

Questions were binary (yes/no) or graded (0–4 points per question).
Some questions were grouped (e.g., 5 subquestions for "document availability" totaling 3 points).
Non-applicable answers were normalized, while unanswered questions received zero points.

Key Challenges and Lessons Learned

Challenges

Self-assessment in the first round led to low credibility, as some councils may have been unaware of or uninterested in transparency.
Limited access to recurrent budget information due to lack of infrastructure and poor dissemination.
Ambiguity in legal frameworks regarding the division of responsibilities between centralized and decentralized entities.
Inadequate own-source revenues for local councils, which affects their ability to operate independently.
Lack of synchronization between central and local budget cycles, leading to delayed allocation of funds.

Lessons Learned

Government buy-in is crucial for the success of the LBTI and the implementation of transparency initiatives.
Public dissemination of results can motivate local officials to improve their performance.
Independent assessments by NGOs offer greater credibility and are more reliable for benchmarking.
Budget literacy among citizens and officials is a precondition for meaningful participation in the budget process.
The LBTI can serve as a roadmap for local councils to improve transparency and build public trust.
Continuous monitoring and capacity building among civil society are necessary to ensure long-term sustainability of transparency efforts.

Conclusion

The LBTI pilot in Cameroon highlights the importance of budget transparency at the local level and the potential of such indices to enhance accountability, encourage reform, and improve public engagement in governance. While the initiative faced challenges related to self-assessment credibility, legal ambiguities, and infrastructure limitations, it also demonstrated positive outcomes, such as increased awareness, motivation for improvement, and greater public scrutiny of local budget processes. The experience underscores the need for standardized tools, independent assessments, and capacity building to promote and sustain budget transparency in local governments.