‘Budget documents not for public viewing’

Finance ministry to upload documents on website after parliamentary approval

ISLAMABAD: The budget documents unless approved by parliament are not for public consumption and hence cannot be shared.

This was the reply of a finance ministry official when Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) executive director contacted him and requested them to upload all the budget documents on the ministry’s website, said a press release on Wednesday.



The official, while referring to constitutional provisions, responded that the budget was required to be approved by the parliament before its implementation and the documents could not be shared with the general public before that. When asked, how the general public and the civil society could respond to the budget proposals unless they were shared with them, the concerned official replied that no comments were required and it was the sole prerogative of the parliament to approve the budget.

On a question regarding the general practice of uploading budget documents by the Punjab Assembly on the website the same day it was presented, the concerned official said that it was a wrong practice and must be rectified.



The concerned official, however, failed to provide a satisfactory answer as to why some documents were uploaded on ministry’s website, while others were absent.

The CPDI has demanded to make the budget making process more participatory and transparent.

It has requested the National Assembly speaker and the finance minister to look into the issue, and share the budget documents with the civil society and the public.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2016.