Civil society organisations (CSOs) have applauded the Ministry of Finance on the launch of Fiji’s first-ever Citizens’ Guide to the National Budget for the 2023 and 2024 fiscal year.
Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad launched the citizens’ budget handbook yesterday at the Civic Centre Hall in Suva.
Speaking at the event, Fiji Council Of Social Services (FCOSS) executive director Vani Catanasiga said she was delighted with this new initiative as this was the first to be done by any government in Fiji.
“In all of my 42 years as a citizen of this country, I have never heard of a government that had on its own, worked to include citizens in what many consider is rocket science, the public finance management (PFM) system, specifically, the budget,” Ms Catanasiga said.
“In 2020, FCOSS worked with UNDP (United Nations Development Program) Pacific and the Pacific Islands Association of NGOs (non-government organisations) to produce one citizens’ budget guide.
“To be honest, at that time we did not anticipate that government would any way respond to the efforts we were doing to include people into PFM,” Ms Catanasiga said.
“Today is a clear demonstration that the political will to ensure that this is realised is right here through this citizens budget guide and so, it’s also a clear sign that this Government is serious about rebuilding trust.”
Citizens Constitutional Forum (CCF) policy and research officer Lusia Lagilevu said the handbook was very important in that it would provide average citizens with an idea of what was happening in the 2023/2024 National Budget.
“I share the same sentiments shared by my colleague, Ms Catanasiga, that we acknowledge and thank the Ministry of Finance for Fiji’s first citizens’ budget,” she said.
“For CCF, this has been a long time point of advocacy.
“We have time and time again advocated for provisions for a citizens’ budget, this has been part of our open budget survey that CCF carries out every two years and we are overwhelmed and thankful that the advocacy around this has come to fruition.”
Those at the launch indicated it, for bodies in their sphere of work, was a positive development.
“We hope that more collaboration with the Government will bring forth more progress in terms of public participation through democratic processes such as budget processes.”
Other organisations and institutions that showed their support for this launch were Dialogue Fiji, the Reserve Bank of Fiji, the Fiji National University, and the University of the South Pacific.
