Sub-Saharan Africa: Public Participation Inches Forward with Innovative Practices, Despite Fiscal Pressure
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What is the Open Budget Survey?
Implemented globally for more than two decades, the Open Budget Survey (OBS) is a globally recognized benchmark for assessing government accountability in public finance. It measures accountability across three pillars:
Transparency
Is there timely, accessible, and comprehensive information about how government budgets are planned and spent?
Participation
Do civil society and the broader public (including historically excluded groups) have structured opportunities to engage at key moments and influence budget choices?
Oversight
Do the legislature and audit institutions have the authority and practices needed to review the budget and scrutinize how it is implemented?
Together, they determine whether constituencies and their representatives can see how public money is planned and spent, question decisions and deviations, and influence priorities before and during implementation. In this sense, the survey acts as a proxy for democratic credibility in public finance: it signals whether budget systems are open enough to support trust, contestation and corrective action.
The OBS 2025 Regional Analysis for Sub-Saharan Africa
The State of National Budget Accountability in the Region
African governments are facing enormous fiscal pressures as the ripple effects of conflicts and severe energy and food price spikes have had a disproportionate impact on the region. According to ONE data, the average cost of borrowing for African countries rose 91% between 2020 and 2024, and the IMF finds the region spends more overall on interest payments as a share of revenue than any other. The imperative for domestic resource mobilization has never been sharper, given the twin challenges of a debt servicing crunch and ODA declines. But the quality of public finance matters as much as its quantity.
People across the continent want governments to manage public finances in a way that addresses their most salient needs. The latest Afrobarometer shows health ranks as Africans’ second most pressing concern, yet majorities say their governments are handling it poorly. And 77% say it is difficult to discover how governments use taxes.
Yet the evidence is clear that trust can be repaired: more than 70% of people surveyed in countries like Uganda are willing to pay more in taxes if governments deliver on social spending priorities. When citizens can see where their money goes, when parliaments and oversight bodies can scrutinize spending, and when communities can hold governments to account for service delivery, trust grows — and with it, the political legitimacy and popular willingness that make domestic revenue mobilization not just possible, but durable.
The 2025 edition of the Open Budget Survey (OBS), covering 33 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, finds that despite fiscal and governance challenges, the region has made modest progress in accountability— which can be bolstered to build public trust.
Bright spots show a willingness by countries to make budgets more transparent and accessible and to tie information to critical development goals.
The OBS 2025 results show promising signs that many countries in the region are embracing more transparent and inclusive public financial management practices. Although the average regional transparency score remains essentially the same as the previous round, this hides an important story of progress: as several countries undertook significant reform efforts in this latest round, while others protected or restored previous gains despite significant pressures.
Many countries are embracing more transparent and inclusive public financial management practices in part thanks to collaboration with civil society and development partners. Eight countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Zimbabwe) provide, in their draft budgets, estimates of all policies intended to benefit directly the country’s most underserved populations. Some governments adopted nascent gender, climate and program-based budgeting practices. These innovations will need to be further bolstered to ensure more equitable outcomes in the years ahead but together with stronger accountability systems, they can help governments work toward development and service delivery targets.
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As fiscal space shrinks, countries are disclosing too little information on how taxes are raised and managed and how public money is borrowed.
Despite the intense fiscal pressures Sub-Saharan Africa faces, governments in the region do not provide enough information about how taxes are being collected and managed or around how public borrowing decisions are being made.
OBS 2025 finds several areas that point to a lack of significant information on how taxes are raised. Although 97% of countries assessed (all but one) provide at least some publicly available information on individual revenue sources, and only one country consistently provides comprehensive information on individual revenue sources across the entire budget cycle, highlighting persistent gaps in the depth of fiscal transparency.
Importantly, only 15% of countries publish even minimal information on tax expenditures (i.e. tax exemptions) in their draft budgets, limiting public insight into who benefits from these exemptions, and how much state revenue is lost as a result, or what benefits such exemptions are expected to generate that could counteract the loss in revenue. This opacity around tax exemptions is especially problematic considering the need for greater domestic resource mobilization.
Similarly, information on borrowing, debt and fiscal risk is insufficient to allow for robust domestic oversight by legislatures, auditors and the public – which is critical to break out of recurring cycles of debt crises.
Findings from the OBS Debt Pilot Assessment
Building on the existing data collected in the Open Budget Survey, a new debt accountability module was implemented in 10 Sub-Saharan African countries (Benin, Cameroon, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Tanzania), examining debt accountability across two further dimensions: how connected debt management decisions are to the budget cycle, and whether the formal oversight authority held by parliaments, Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs), and civil society is being exercised in practice. Findings highlight four key gaps:
Debt information is published, but it does not connect borrowing to purpose.
Countries publish technical breakdowns on debt composition, maturity, and currency mix, with Cameroon standing out, but only half of assessed countries show how planned borrowing aligns with fiscal priorities, three analyze debt-financed sectoral spending, and none highlights which projects new borrowing will finance.
Debt decisions are largely disconnected from the budget process.
Only Benin published an annual borrowing plan before or alongside budget approval, leaving borrowing to run in a parallel lane to fiscal planning.
Formal oversight authority is rarely exercised.
Seven of ten legislatures have a legal role in reviewing debt strategies and borrowing plans, but only four (Benin, Cameroon, Kenya and Rwanda) did so, and no audit office in the sample conducts and publishes annual debt audits.
Public participation on debt is rare.
Only four of ten countries (Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania) have legislation covering public participation in public financial management or debt management. Three countries reported that debt was one of the topics covered during public engagement on the budget formulation process, with Kenya’s sector budget hearings offering the clearest example of a dedicated, open platform.
Nevertheless, several countries are disclosing useful information on tax and debt management, showing that a different way is possible. South Africa continues to stand alone as the only country assessed in the region that provides key information in its budget proposal on all quasi-fiscal activities to be undertaken for the fiscal year ahead. In addition, it is the only country to provide a comprehensive accounting in its draft budget of the contingent liabilities that the government holds, giving the public a more complete understanding of the risk profile of the national budget. Cameroon, The Gambia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda publish, on a yearly basis in their budget proposal, the list of all arrears, therefore providing a clearer picture of their payment obligations.
Several countries are putting good practices into action to expand public participation.
The latest results highlight a steady but slow improvement in participation scores across the region. Several countries are putting good practices into action to expand civic engagement—with executives, national audit offices and legislatures offering more spaces for the public to engage and providing accessible information to make meaningful participation possible. Government innovations have been reinforced by proactive and engaged civil society groups that have pushed for reforms and accountability.
Leveraging tools like the OBS to influence fiscal policymaking, civil society advocated for fiscal openness reforms, helped translate the relevance of budget information to services communities need and, in many cases, played an important role in protecting progress during moments of political instability. They have also fortified working relationships with ministries, parliamentary committees, and oversight institutions—often providing valuable evidence that improved fiscal decision-making.
Civic groups in several countries such as Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania have joined forces to form budget advocacy coalitions that can advance common priorities with the government. Below are three examples:
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The current decline of international aid puts at risk the sustainability of this emerging field of social actors that have played a crucial role in strengthening fiscal reforms, public participation and key outcomes in areas such as education, health, agriculture, child and women’s rights.
Oversight practices are modestly improving in select countries, but stronger connections are needed between actors in the fiscal accountability ecosystem, including on addressing audit recommendations.
Oversight in Sub-Saharan Africa shows uneven but real progress. While systematic follow-up on audit findings remains a gap across the region, foundations for stronger oversight exist. Three countries (Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa and Tanzania) have Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) or legislatures that track and report on the implementation of all audit recommendations, one does so for most, and a further seven do so for some — pointing to emerging practices that can be built over time.
On the executive side, however, reporting is more limited. Only a small number of finance ministries (Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, and Uganda) report on actions taken in response to audit findings, and none do so comprehensively, highlighting an important gap in closing the accountability loop.
Public participation mechanisms in legislative review processes, such as public hearings on audit reports could provide an important entry point for the public to engage and be informed on how the government is executing the budget and whether it is having impact or needs course correction. Civil society groups have used these spaces, where they exist, to bring audit findings into public debate and encourage follow-through by both governments and oversight actors.
In other instances, audit institutions have introduced mechanisms to receive and use the public’s inputs in their oversight activities.
Strengthening systematic tracking and reporting, particularly by the executive, alongside more consistent use of participatory mechanisms, is a key opportunity to ensure that audit findings and recommendations translate into concrete improvements in public financial management and service delivery.
Furthermore, while oversight scores in Sub-Saharan Africa remained unchanged at 44 between OBS 2023 and OBS 2025, there are clear opportunities for countries to secure further gains through relatively achievable institutional improvements.
Ways to Strengthen Budget Accountability in the Region
Transparency
OBJECTIVE
To strengthen the availability, timeliness, and depth of publicly accessible budget information to enable informed scrutiny and evidence-based decision making
RECOMMENDATIONS
GOOD PRACTICES
Participation
OBJECTIVE
To institutionalize inclusive and accessible participation that ensures citizen input informs budget decisions and is systematically considered
RECOMMENDATIONS
GOOD PRACTICES
Since 2021, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has maintained public participation practices that consistently place it above the Sub-Saharan Africa regional average. Before the national finance law is drafted, the government invites civil society to budget consultations on annual fiscal forecasts and their alignment with medium-term priorities, sharing a draft budget framework with participants in advance. Groups representing underserved communities are included. The government also publishes a detailed budget calendar that maps the full formulation and approval process, including when public engagement will occur. Participation extends beyond the Ministry of Finance: Parliament’s economic and finance commissions meet with civil society groups during their review of the draft finance law to discuss civil society reports analyzing sectoral spending, revenue, and policy recommendations.
Oversight
OBJECTIVE
To reinforce effective oversight that ensures scrutiny, follow up, and public accountability in the use of public resources
RECOMMENDATIONS
Executive governments, legislatures, and audit institutions should strengthen coordination across the fiscal accountability ecosystem by reinforcing institutional linkages between budget scrutiny, audit processes, and public accountability mechanisms, including through the systematic tracking, reporting, and follow up of audit findings and recommendations.
GOOD PRACTICES
Since OBS 2023, Benin has taken several steps to strengthen SAI and legislative oversight over the national budget process. During the approval phase of the 2025 draft finance law, the National Assembly received the proposed budget earlier, allowing more time for analysis and debate. The Assembly’s Finance and Trade Committee also published reports on its examination of in-year budget execution more frequently during FY 2024 and made its findings on the Court of Accounts’ audit report available to the public earlier than before. For its part, the Court received an increased funding allocation for FY 2025 allowing it to better fulfill its mandate, and its audit processes were evaluated against international standards as part of a capacity building project by the INTOSAI Development Initiative.
A Deeper Look at our Collaborations in the Region
In Nigeria, budget advocacy is transforming maternal healthcare
In South Africa, informal settlement residents are leveraging social audit and other data to improve services
In Senegal, civil society identified bottlenecks in planning, procurement and implementation to improve budget execution of water, sanitation and flood prevention
In Malawi, child rights advocates are leveraging budget analysis to transform budgets for early childhood development
In Rwanda, a multi-stakeholder platform brings together government and civil society actors to strengthen coordination and accountability in the budget process
In The Gambia, partners challenged an unlawful budget allocation and won
Image credit: Gambia Participates
Open Budget Survey Partners
| Angola | Acção para o Desenvolvimento Rural e Ambiente (ADRA) | Contact | Website |
| Benin | Social Watch Bénin | Contact | Website |
| Botswana | Botswana Watch Organization | Contact | Website |
| Burkina Faso | Centre pour la Gouvernance Démocratique (CGD) | Contact | Website |
| Burundi | CURDES: Centre Universitaire de Recherche pour le Développement Economique et Social | Contact | Website |
| Cameroon | AfroLeadership | Contact | Website |
| Chad | Centre d’Etudes et de Recherche sur la Gouvernance, les Industries Extractives et le Développement Durable | Contact | Website |
| Côte d’Ivoire | SOCIAL JUSTICE | Contact | Website |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Réseau Gouvernance Economique et Démocratie (REGED) | Contact | Website |
| Ethiopia | The Horn Economic and Social Policy Institute (HESPI) | Contact | Website |
| Ghana | SEND Ghana | Contact | Website |
| Guinea-Bissau | Movimento Nacional da Sociedade Civil para Paz, Democracia e Desenvolvimento | Contact | Website |
| Kenya | Institute of Public Finance | Contact | Website |
| Lesotho | For inquiries please contact the International Budget Partnership | Contact | Website |
| Madagascar | MSIS-Tatao | Contact | Website |
| Malawi | NGO Coalition on Child Rights | Contact | Website |
| Mali | Groupe de Recherche en Économie Appliquée et Théorique (GREAT) | Contact | Website |
| Mauritania | Observatoire Mauritanien de Lutte Contre la Corruption (OMLCC) | Contact | Website |
| Mozambique | Centro de Integridade Pública (CIP) | Contact | Website |
| Namibia | Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) | Contact | Website |
| Niger | Alternative Espaces Citoyens (AEC) | Contact | Website |
| Nigeria | International Budget Partnership – Nigeria | Contact | Website |
| Rwanda | Transparency International Rwanda | Contact | Website |
| Senegal | ONG 3D | Contact | Website |
| Sierra Leone | Budget Advocacy Network (BAN) | Contact | Website |
| Somalia | Sadar Development and Resilience Institute | Contact | Website |
| South Africa | Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) | Contact | Website |
| Tanzania | HakiElimu | Contact | Website |
| The Gambia | Gambia Participates | Contact | Website |
| Togo | For inquiries please contact the International Budget Partnership | Contact | Website |
| Uganda | Uganda Debt Network (UDN) | Contact | Website |
| Zambia | Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) | Contact | Website |
| Zimbabwe | National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO) | Contact | Website |
Elena Mondo
Alex Kreko
Laura Castillo Cabral
Alex Ciconello
David Robins
Cynthia Romero
Sally Torbert
Rajan Zaveri
Lilianna Ziedins
