[:en]Forum on “Youth Participation in Budgetary Process at National and Sub-National Level”[:]

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On Friday 13th October 2017, The National Budget Project (NBP) of the NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGOF) with their Budget Working Group (BWG) members including Advocay and Policy Institue (API), Affiliated Network for Soical Accountability (ANSA), Cambodians for Resource Revenue Transparency (CRRT), Gender and Developmnet for Cambodia (GADC), Star Kampuchea (SK), Transparency International Cambodia (TIC), and Save the Children, co-organized the Forum on “Youth Participation in Budgetary Process at National and Sub-National Level” under the finacial support of EU, Sida, Oxfam, and DCA at Himawari Hotel, Phnom Penh Capital, Cambodia. There were 227 participants (105 women) including monks, youth from provinces, universities, national and international NGOs in Cambodia participated in this event.  The objectives of this fourm are increase awarenesss on fiscal budget transparency including budget information process and budget transparency at National and Sub-national level; and better understanding on National Assembly’s role on the operation of draft budget law process (commission 2) and learning/sharing on budget understanding.On Friday 13th October 2017, The National Budget Project (NBP) of the NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGOF) with their Budget Working Group (BWG) members including Advocay and Policy Institue (API), Affiliated Network for Soical Accountability (ANSA), Cambodians for Resource Revenue Transparency (CRRT), Gender and Developmnet for Cambodia (GADC), Star Kampuchea (SK), Transparency International Cambodia (TIC), and Save the Children, co-organized the Forum on “Youth Participation in Budgetary Process at National and Sub-National Level” under the finacial support of EU, Sida, Oxfam, and DCA at Himawari Hotel, Phnom Penh Capital, Cambodia. There were 227 participants (105 women) including monks, youth from provinces, universities, national and international NGOs in Cambodia participated in this event.  The objectives of this fourm are increase awarenesss on fiscal budget transparency including budget information process and budget transparency at National and Sub-national level; and better understanding on National Assembly’s role on the operation of draft budget law process (commission 2) and learning/sharing on budget understanding.

The forum was opened and welcomed by Ms. Lim Solin, Country Director of Oxfam. First of all, she thanked to all participants who attending this forum and mentioned the importance of citizen involvement in national budget development and implementation process. Cambodia is ranked as the 8th country among 100 countries that still has limited participation of citizen in the national budgeting. This is due to the lack of technical capacity of them to involve in this process. However, currently, it was observed the improvment of this participation as many stakeholders including NGOs/CSOs and citizen have involved more with government on this issue. Then, she addressed two key remarks.

    - She would like to thank to the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) particularly Ministry of Economic and Finance (MEF) who open more space for CSOs and youth engagment in the national budget development both at national and sub-national level. RGC plays an important role as a partner with the NGOs to do awareness raising on national budget information. The website of MEF is recognized by the public. In 2015, MEF and National Assembly (NA) shared the National Budget Law and encouraged for more involvement from releveant stakeholders. All of these could reflect as a good participation and is being a part of making transparency on National Budget Development in Cambodia.

    - 70% of Cambodia peple is under 30 year olds. This shows that we have more labor and potential people for the purpose of country development. Budget use on education and public health service is very important to know by citizen particularly the young people. As Cambodia is the democratic society, optimistic involvement from relevant stakeholders is needed for the improvment of national budget development. Then, she thanked to all speakers from government agecies and participants who came to involve in this forum. She streesed that “Oxfam would like to declare to work together with all stakeholders to improve the transparency of national budget development in Cambodia”. Finally, she wished all participants to get success in life and annouced to open this forum.

During the plenary “Budget Formulation Process at Sub-National level and Public Financial Management (PFM)”. Mr. Gnav Ton, Deputy Director of Administration Department of Municipalities/Districts and Commune/Sangkat admin task, Ministry of Interior (MoI) presented on “Budgeting process at sub-national level”. 4 main contents were presented as following:

   1. Introduction: Budget of Municipalities/Districts and Commune/Sangkat administration is the revenue that getting from fiscal and non-fiscal taxation sources. Most of budget is getting from non-fiscal taxation sources, the “recurrent revenue of national budget” that government have transfered to the budget of municipalities/district and Commune/Sangkat. Each district or commune council work to manage and use this budget in their teriority with accountability and transparency manners. It needs the citizens or communities involvment in using this budget.

   2. Legal framwork of sub-national budgeting: related legal documents on budget development of district and commune at sub-national level can be seen in the slide presentation.

     3. Budgeting at Sub-national level:

        a. At Municipality/District: responsible by municipality/district governor with the involvment of the technical coordination committee to faciliate for the integration of each techncial offices’s actoin plan (the vertical line of each ministry) before sending to the approval council. In the process of budget development, it needs to ensure the participation of public people, commue/sangkat local authorities. For municipal budget, Sankat local authority and public people have to involve in this process. The budget plan must be sent to  the provincial administration by no later than 15 July. It required some documents including:i. Budget strategic plan and other related dcoument on the estimiation of revenue and expenditureii. Report of consultaton with public people. Specifically, for municipal budget, it must need the consultation report with sangkat council. iii. Report of current budget implementation iv. 3 year program rolling budget tablev. Minute of project budget plan approval In the first semester, MEF has transferred ¼ of budget automatically to the municipality/distict directly. But for semester 2, 3, and 4, municipality/district must do request to MEF by attaching supported documents for the MEF to check before transfering the next budget. Note: Municipality governors need to do localization of buget to the sangkat.

Another presentation related to correlation between Good Governance, Social Accountability and PFM.

Mr. San Chey, Executive Director of Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA) introduced about this organization as it was localized in Cambodia. The Vision is Cambodia developing into a country where citizens are capable and collaborative and society with integrity, dignity and full of freedom in accordance to national and international laws. The mission is ANSA Cambodia seeks to enhance citizen capacity, fight against corruption, and promote good governance to improve public service deliveries, public resources as well as natural resource management. The process of national budget development should have 2 kinds of accountability (1) by involving of public people voice (2) by responding to the government legal document. Involvement of youth is very important on public financial management. For example, road rehabilitation by using 200 million USD – why need to spend a lot of money on this and how public people particularly the youth should involve to monitor this budget expense. Then, he started his presentation by explaining the correlation between good governance, social accountability, and public financial management (PFM) and youth engagement.

Mr. Sun Youra, program manager of Development Issue Programme and Research, Advocacy and Communication, NGOF. Before starting the presenation, a documentary film was shown to the participants. It was about the importance of people participation in the cycle of national budgeting which we called public financial management. It showed about a comparison between the state and a small family, how to earn money, how much income is spent and how to spend for daily life of each family. Citizens have roles of being aware of national budget utilization, budget monitoring, spending, participation in bidding and taking part in budget review to ensue that the budget has been spent to meet the needs of the people.

Ms. Chea Cheysovanna, Program coordinator of Star Kampuchea summarized the result of the workshop that participants have learned such as process of budgeting in the sub-national level, how government and citizen could work together on PFM, and the experience from foreign countries on how youth involve in the budget development, as well as the two meaningful of film documentaries produced by NGOF. Finally, he thanked to all donors and participants for attending this forum and wished them all success in life, and announced the close of this event.<:>