A development Expert has advocated an ideal budgeting process that allows for a bottom top approach method of budget preparation as most ideal.
Mr. Henry Omokaiye, made the disclosure at a two day training workshop on “tracking constituency projects” Get Involved, Dialogue and Improving Project – GDRIP organized by Stallion Times Media Services (STMS), with Support from McArthur Foundation held at the New Age Hall in Lokoja.
Mr. Henry described a true budget that would be beneficial to the people as one that MDAs prepare and send to budget office, the MDAs prepare without fiscal constraint and without being guided.
While observing that the real budget process usually witnessed in the country follows the top bottom approach, with the total budget divided amongst MDAs, and are been guided, lamented breeches in budget process.
He observed that budget breech leads to comprehensiveness, universality, annuality, specificity, said best budget practice should follow a stable calendar, set out key document that will be provided by the legislature, and provide adequate time frame for all the stakeholders to participate especially the legislature.
Mr. Henry called for the media and civil society to rightly engage in budget process to enable them track constituency budget and implementation.
While urging the media and civil society to always follow up with the budget circular, said as agenda setters, the media can be used to increase visibility, redress negative impact as well as increase coverage of implementation of the budget.
In his opening remarks, Isiyaku Ahmed, Project Coordinator and Editor-in-Chief, STMS, said the training aims at building capacity of media/CSOs on budget processes and procedures.
The Editor in Chief also disclosed that the train aims training journalists/CS Advocates on how to track constituency projects as well as improve journalists capacity on writing investigative stories on constituency projects.