South Africa

Which countries lead in budget accountability? Which ones need improvement? Explore our data and recommendations for each of the 120 countries assessed.
Open Budget Survey Results

Public Participation

19

Budget Oversight

81

Transparency

86

Open Budget Survey 2021

Government budget decisions – what taxes to levy, what services to provide, and how much debt to take on – have important consequences for all people in society. When governments provide information and meaningful channels for the public to engage in these decisions, we can better ensure public money is spent on public interests.

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The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions, such as legislatures and national audit offices, in the budget process.

The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 8th edition of the OBS covers 120 countries.

Summary
Country Specific Assessments
Country summary EN
pdf, 313.92 KB
Questionnaire EN
pdf, 903.68 KB
86 /100

This part of the OBS measures public access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources. It assesses the online availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of eight key budget documents using 109 equally weighted indicators and scores each country on a scale of 0 to 100. A transparency score of 61 or above indicates a country is likely publishing enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.

Transparency in South Africa compared to others

Global Average
45
South Africa
86
Zimbabwe
59
Mozambique
45
Namibia
42
Botswana
34
Eswatini
31
Angola
30
Lesotho
26
Zambia
19
Mali
8
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

South Africa’s ranking: 2 of 120 countries

0
100

How has the transparency score for South Africa changed over time?

92
2010
90
2012
86
2015
89
2017
87
2019
86
2021
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Public availability of budget documents in South Africa

Key
Available to the Public
Published Late, or Not Published Online, or Produced for Internal Use Only
Not Produced
Scroll
Document 2010 2012 2015 2017 2019 2021
Pre-Budget Statement
Executive’s Budget Proposal
Enacted Budget
Citizens Budget
In-Year Reports
Mid-Year Review
Year-End Report
Audit Report

How comprehensive is the content of the key budget documents that South Africa makes available to the public?

Key
61-100 / 100
41-60 / 100
1-40 / 100
Scroll
Key budget document Document purpose and contents Fiscal year assessed Document content score
Pre-Budget Statement Discloses the broad parameters of fiscal policies in advance of the Executive's Budget Proposal; outlines the government's economic forecast, anticipated revenue, expenditures, and debt. 2020-21 100
Executive’s Budget Proposal Submitted by the executive to the legislature for approval; details the sources of revenue, the allocations to ministries, proposed policy changes, and other information important for understanding the country's fiscal situation. 2020-21 89
Enacted Budget The budget that has been approved by the legislature. 2020-21 45
Citizens Budget A simpler and less technical version of the government's Executive’s Budget Proposal or the Enacted Budget, designed to convey key information to the public. 2020-21 67
In-Year Reports Include information on actual revenues collected, actual expenditures made, and debt incurred at different intervals; issued quarterly or monthly. 2019-20 & 2020-21 85
Mid-Year Review A comprehensive update on the implementation of the budget as of the middle of the fiscal year; includes a review of economic assumptions and an updated forecast of budget outcomes. 2020-21 93
Year-End Report Describes the situation of the government's accounts at the end of the fiscal year and, ideally, an evaluation of the progress made toward achieving the budget's policy goals. 2018-19 91
Audit Report Issued by the supreme audit institution, this document examines the soundness and completeness of the government's year-end accounts. 2018-19 91

South Africa’s transparency score of 86 in the OBS 2021 is near its score in 2019.

Recommendations

South Africa should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

Improve the comprehensiveness of the Enacted Budget by presenting approved estimates of expenditure by functional classification and approved estimates of revenue by category and individual source.
19 /100

The OBS assesses the formal opportunities offered to the public for meaningful participation in the different stages of the budget process. It examines the practices of the central government’s executive, the legislature, and the supreme audit institution (SAI) using 18 equally weighted indicators, aligned with the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency’s Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policies , and scores each country on a scale from 0 to 100.

South Africa has a public participation score of 19 (out of 100).

Public participation in South Africa compared to others

Global Average
14
Zambia
24
South Africa
19
Zimbabwe
19
Mozambique
18
Angola
7
Mali
7
Botswana
6
Eswatini
2
Lesotho
2
Namibia
0
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

For more information, see here  for innovative public participation practices around the world.

Extent of opportunities for public participation in the budget process

20
/100
Formulation
(executive)
67
/100
Approval
(legislature)
0
/100
Implementation
(executive)
0
/100
Audit
(supreme audit institution)
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

South Africa's National Treasury has established pre-budget submissions 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.
Actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, directly or through civil society organizations representing them.

South Africa's Parliament has established public hearings related to the approval of the annual budget, but should also prioritize the following actions:

Allow any member of the public or any civil society organization to testify during its hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval.
Allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during its hearings on the Audit Report.

South Africa's Auditor-General should prioritize the following actions to improve public participation in the budget process:

Establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist in developing its audit program and to contribute to relevant audit investigations.
81 /100

The OBS examines the role that legislatures and supreme audit institutions (SAIs) play in the budget process and the extent to which they provide oversight; each country is scored on a scale from 0 to 100 based on 18 equally weighted indicators. In addition, the survey collects supplementary information on independent fiscal institutions (see Box).

The Parliament and Auditor-General in South Africa, together, provide adequate oversight during the budget process, with a composite oversight score of 81 (out of 100). Taken individually, the extent of each institution’s oversight is shown below:

Legislative oversight

0
72
100
adequate

Audit oversight

0
100
100
adequate
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

South Africa's Parliament provides adequate oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and adequate oversight during the implementation stage. To further improve oversight, the following actions should be prioritized:

The Executive’s Budget Proposal should be submitted to legislators at least two months before the start of the budget year.
The Parliament should approve the Executive’s Budget Proposal before the start of the budget year.
In practice, ensure the Parliament is consulted before the executive reduces spending due to revenue shortfalls.

The emerging practice of establishing independent fiscal institutions

South Africa’s independent fiscal institution (IFI) is the Parliamentary Budget Office. Its independence is set in law, and it reports to the legislature. It publishes an assessment of the official macroeconomic and/or fiscal forecasts produced by the executive, and its own cost estimates of some new policy proposals.

The indicators on IFIs are not scored in the Open Budget Survey.

Methodology

  • Only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31 December 2020 were assessed in the OBS 2021.
     
  • The survey is based on a questionnaire completed in each country by an independent budget expert:
    Jay Kruuse (Director)
    Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) – Rhodes University

    [email protected]
  • To further strengthen the research, each country’s draft questionnaire is also reviewed by an anonymous independent expert, and in South Africa by a representative of the National Treasury.
Past reports
Years
Language
Country summary EN
PDF, en
Questionnaire EN
PDF, en
Country summary EN
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Questionnaire EN
PDF, en
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
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Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN