Saturday January 31, 08:47 PM
Most governments fail to account for spending: report
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Eighty percent of the world's governments fail to provide adequate information on spending to the public, often because of a lack of political will, according to a report published Saturday.
The International Budget Partnership (IBP), a non-governmental organization that promotes transparency in government, said it evaluated the budgets of 85 countries -- looking at whether information was made accessible to allow the public to participate in the budget process and hold officials accountable.
Nearly 50 percent of the 85 countries "provide such minimal information that they are able to hide unpopular, wasteful, and corrupt spending," the IBP said.
The IBP said a significant finding was that many governments produce the budget information that would allow the public to participate effectively but do not release it.
In 51 of the 85 countries, the government produces at least one key document that is not disclosed to the public, the survey found.
The group used the findings of data collected before September 28 to calculate country rankings on a transparency index.
Britain was the highest-ranked country, at 88 percent, followed by a tie between France and South Africa at 87 percent.
The top five "open" countries were rounded out by New Zealand (86 percent) and the United States (82 percent).
At the bottom of the index were 25 countries that provide "scant or no information," the IBP said, half of them in Africa.
China was ranked at 14 percent, tied with Burkina Faso. Saudi Arabia and Algeria were tied at one percent.
Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, among the five countries that ranked zero in transparency on government spending, bought a 35 million dollar vacation home for its president in Malibu, California, the IBP said, citing a US Senate investigative committee.
"This was 10 million dollars more than the government's budget showed the country planned to spend on health care for its impoverished population in 1995," the organization said.
Governments could improve transparency immediately and at minimal cost by disclosing information that is already produced, the group said.
"Many countries could improve their transparency at a low cost, since we know they are making good statistics, but do not release them," IBP director Warren Krafchik told AFP.
"The level of transparency does not depend on economic means, but on political willingness," he said in an interview, citing Sri Lanka's tie at 64th place with Germany, and Botswana, ranked 62nd.
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