Minister of Finance: expand the scope of the “participatory budgeting” initiative in the governorates

Finance Minister Dr. Mohamed Maait affirmed his interest in expanding the scope of the “participatory budgeting” initiative that began in Alexandria and then in Fayoum.

According to Maait, in a press release on Friday, the goal is to gradually reach out to all governorates in cooperation with relevant ministries and civil society institutions, with the goal of deepening community participation in the state’s financial policy. What helps citizens to contribute effectively to the preparation of the general state budget at the local level, monitoring and analyzing service problems and solution proposals, identifying development needs, public spending priorities and monitoring the implementation of local projects to lay the foundations for community control.

Ahmed Kjok, Deputy Minister for Financial Policy, said the government pays great attention to improving public services in various governorates and meeting the needs of citizens according to their priorities. Their support by translating the priorities of citizens at the local level into financial allocations in the state budget, with short-term implementation plans.

Sarah Eid, head of the Transparency and Community Participation Unit, indicated that the “Participatory Budgeting” initiative works with a gradual plan that spans three years and is based on the formation of effective cadres of citizens who can read, understand and analyze the budget and government programs, so that they can follow up on the implementation of local projects, in a way that contributes to laying the foundations of community control.

He explained that project proposals will be evaluated by an evaluation committee that includes a financial specialist, a technical specialist, and an expert in project management; Determine the degree of technical, financial and temporal suitability of the projects in light of local needs, and the degree to which the local community supports the implementation of the projects and their compatibility with the specified funding ceiling, since the initiative has The objective is to increase the efficiency of public spending by creating a link between citizens and the relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations.

In the same context, a delegation from the Ministry of Finance held a meeting with Dr. Ahmed Al-Ansari, Governor of Fayoum, to discuss the implementation mechanisms of the participatory initiative in Fayoum, and the meeting addressed the role of the State to make the citizen a partner in sustainable development by participating in the preparation stage to establish the plan and general budget of each party through a presentation. The needs of each region and their vision of the plans to implement.

The meeting reviewed the objectives of the Transparency Unit of the Ministry of Finance, its axes, plans and vision, the target groups, as well as the role of the unit to involve citizens and allow them to prepare the budget at the local level and development sustainable.

The governor of Fayoum expressed his hope that the initiative will achieve the desired goals in the land of the Fayoum governorate, especially as we are working to strengthen cooperation between various governmental and non-governmental bodies in a way that benefits citizens, especially in the most needy villages.

He said: Our objective is to implement the “participatory budget” initiative during the next year, after the success of the Ministry of Finance in the publication and preparation of the citizen budget under the motto: “You have the right to know the budget of your country” periodically during the last 7 fiscal years.