A Guide to the
Trinidad and Tobago
Budget for Civil Society
Organisations

Introduction

Transparency in budgeting allows citizens and civil society organisations to see how public money is gathered and spent. While it’s a good start, transparency on its own is not enough. Engagement from civil society and a process that allows Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to give effective input into budget planning ensures that government hears from all sectors of society, addresses actual needs, and is held accountable.

Budget decisions affect everyday life, from taxes paid by individuals, small businesses, and corporations to the services and programmes citizens use. The budget is health care for Grandma. It’s the road you take to work every day, or during the pandemic, it’s access to the internet so you can work remotely. It’s what ensures children get nutritious meals.

Those budget numbers can make all the difference in how you serve your community, clients, or members. Analysing the budget can provide ideas and information for academic studies, or be the catalyst for a news story. Understanding the budgeting steps gives you the information you need to submit a funding proposal.

The government is spending money that belongs to the public, so the public should have input into its use. This doesn’t mean CSOs will always be in agreement. Debate, conflict, and trade-offs are always present, simply because there are a variety of interests and different circumstances across communities and individuals.

The point is that as long as government is listening to civil society and working for the needs of citizens and not for itself, then we are headed in the right direction, even if there is still much work to be done. A critical first step toward participation is to teach civil society how the budget works and how CSOs can take part in the process. If CSOs want to play a role in decisions about how public money is spent, they must first understand the technical and practical functioning of the budget process.

Is this guide for you?

This guide is intended to help civil society organisations such as community-based organisations, academia, legal experts, journalists, lobby groups and local business trade organisations, find and understand the information within the national budget that is relevant to them. By analysing the information we can better monitor critical issues, participate in public policy discussions, and increase government accountability. Here’s what’s inside:

• The open budget survey and where T&T stands
• How Civil Society Organisations can benefit from deeper engagement with the national budget
• Budget timeline and processes
• Government policies and priorities
• How revenues and expenditures work
• How to read the budget as a CSO
• Suggested improvements to the budget process
• How CSOs can get involved

Open (Transparent) Budgets

Public engagement means that governments get input from those who will be affected by policy. An open (transparent) budget allows everyone to see how entities are taxed, how much debt is being acquired, and which services are being provided.

A transparent budget, processes in place for the public to participate, and a readiness for engagement from the public mean more people get what they need. It means real change for the better in terms of quality of life.

What is the Open Budget Survey?

Where Trinidad & Tobago Stands

Where are we now? Well, as of 2019, our country is not doing very well in comparison to many other countries; in fact, we rank 90th of 117 countries in the survey. The Open Budget Survey shows us at 30/100 for transparency, 39/100 for budget oversight, and a paltry 7/100 for public participation.

Transparency

How accessible is the information provided to the public? A score of 61 or above means there is enough published material to support informed public debate. T&T scores 30/100 for this measure, so there is much more work to be done.

Budget Oversight

How much oversight do legislatures and auditors have over the budget process? T&T has weak oversight, with a score of 39/100. This is key area for budget reform.

Public Participation

If we want the benefits from transparency, we must be engaged in the budget process. Trinidad and Tobago scores very low here, with a public participation score of 7/100. Going forward, it is imperative that CSOs step up and learn about budget processes so they can help facilitate the changes we need in Trinidad & Tobago.

Suggested Improvements for Trinidad and Tobago

We need to improve budget transparency and better hold government to account. As with anything worth doing, it will take hard work and time. The first step is education and a demonstration by CSOs and citizens that they have a will for civic engagement. We are not at the point yet where there is a designated portion of the T&T budget available for the participatory budgeting process discussed next, but there is an opportunity for Civil Society Organizations to submit proposals and work together to push for some of the actions outlined below.

The case for participatory budgeting

Participatory budgeting started in Brazil in the late eighties as an anti-poverty solution. Basically, the government sets aside a portion of the budget and community members decide how the money is spent. The key to this process is outreach, to find those in the community who have valuable input but who usually don’t participate.

Countries around the world have seen previously marginalized and disenfranchised citizens get the opportunity to have their voices heard by government. Often, the participatory budget process results in the emergence of new leaders and the strengthening of democracy on a local level.

We are not yet at that point, but we are working to get there, and CSOs are extremely important to the transition.

Why CSOs are important to open budgeting

Civil Society Organisations can:

• Share critical information about their community’s needs, which leads to stronger policy choices when taken into account by government
• Summarise and provide budget information to their community
• Provide opinions on how to implement proposals
• Develop allies in government agencies 

CSOs should team up with donors

Medium and long-term development strategies such as Vision 2030 and updates on progress will provide some information but donors, particularly international donors, should team up with CSO’s to demand greater accountability.

Here are some changes to push for

More public input

One challenge for public entities in reviewing the budget documents in detail prior to its enactment is the fact that they are only made available on budget day itself, usually after the budget has been presented by the Minister of Finance. Because of this, the budget is hardly ever modified from its proposal form. There is not enough time to raise questions from the date of proposal to the date of enactment.

To improve this process, the timing and information relevant to the budget should be made available ahead of time and the government should report on how public participation was engaged, and how it informed budget priorities. 

Trinidad and Tobago's Ministry of Finance has established council during budget formulation but, to further strengthen public participation in the budget process, should also prioritize the following actions:

• Pilot mechanisms to monitor budget implementation.
• Expand mechanisms during budget formulation that engage any civil society organization or member of the public who wishes to participate.
• Actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, directly or through civil society organizations representing them.

Trinidad and Tobago's Parliament has established public hearings related to the approval of the annual budget and public hearings related to the review of the Audit Report, but should also prioritise the ability of any member of the public or any civil society organisation to testify during hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval.

Audit practice

Trinidad and Tobago's Office of the Auditor General should establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist in developing its audit program and to contribute to relevant audit investigations. We need to identify metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of the budget.

Any member of the public or any civil society organisation should be allowed to testify during hearings on the Audit Report.

We should improve the comprehensiveness of the Audit Report and Enacted Budget.

Local Government reform

There is a lot that can be done at the local level to overcome political interference and manipulation, inadequate funding, and a sluggish administrative structure. The current legislation for municipalities is inadequate, but The Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government is working with Local Government to create a more modern Local Government system.

Within the Government’s policy for Local Government Reform there are some areas of responsibility presently under the jurisdiction of Local Government that will be given additional responsibilities. 

Here are some key reforms under consideration:

• Corporate Restructuring of the Ministry of Local Government and Municipal Corporations
• Human Resource Development and Institutional Restructuring
• Local Area Regional Planning and Development  
• Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Communications
• Waste Resource Management
• Disaster Preparedness and Management
• Municipal/Community Policing
• The development and establishment of standards and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms

Produce and publish more information for accountability

Include in the Executive's Budget Proposal more comprehensive financial and macroeconomic information.

Produce and publish the following reports online: 

A Pre-budget Statement sets out a government’s budget strategies for the coming year, if not for an additional two years beyond. In some countries it is provided only to the government’s cabinet, but ideally it should be made available to the legislature and the public as well. This document would serve to encourage debate before the budget is drafted to create expectations of what it may include and improve the budget formulation process within the government. It also provides a way for the public to understand the link between policies and budget allocations.

A Citizens Budget is a short, nontechnical version of the budget. The annual budget, with its detailed supporting documents, can be difficult and time consuming even for experts. In order to help the public make sense of the budget, and thereby make it more accessible, it is essential that governments issue a report such as this. 

In-Year Reports provide snapshots of how the budget is being implemented during the budget year. They are periodic reports that list major components of the budget. They attempt to provide a measure of the trends in revenues and expenditures to date and they may provide explanations for any significant changes between estimated and actual spending. This is important for budget transparency because they require the government to put in place the systems and knowledge to track this aggregate data. This also promotes accuracy and availability of budget data. When it is time to create the Mid-Year Review, the document we discuss next, In-Year Report information can help clarify if there is a need for spending adjustments.

The Mid-Year Review is provided about halfway through the budget year as an assessment of fiscal performance against the enacted budget. Is the budget coping with current macroeconomic developments? Are revenue collections keeping up as expected? Have the prices of natural resources undergone substantial change? Should adjustments be made to spending in various departments or sectors?

The Year-end Report, different from the Audit Report (which is prepared by an external agency that is independent of the executive branch and is a detailed statement of government’s actual expenditures and revenue by budget category), presents the performance of the budget compared to the original budget. It shows what was actually spent and collected in comparison to what was budgeted. Did the budget reach its policy objectives, both on a macro level and for specific programs?

Concrete steps CSO representatives can take

• Learn how the budget works. You must understand how the process if you are to participate. Take action now by checking out this pre-recorded webinar. 
• Get in on the process. Draft a proposal and/or participate in public policy discussions.
• Get organised. Speak with other CSOs to see how you can work together to pressure the Minister of Finance and try to get more meetings and consultation from the government well before the next call circular is issued.
• Call for the window for proposal submissions to expand.
• Push for specific measures. For example, engage with government in an effort to produce a social spending report out of the Ministry of Social Development. This could have a major effect on social development spending in the budget.
• Speak with officials to find out more about local government reform and how regional allocations are made and spent.

What’s next?

Trinidad and Tobago has the opportunity to embrace a future that includes participatory budgeting, and with the help of civil society organisations we will get there. The issue is how we can make it work. That’s what we will explore next.

_{Updated: February 1, 2021}