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Burkina Faso

Which countries lead in budget accountability? Which ones need improvement? Explore our data and recommendations for each of the 125 countries assessed.
Open Budget Survey Results

Public Participation

11

Budget Oversight

39

Transparency

30

Open Budget Survey 2023

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 9th edition of the OBS covers 125 countries.

Summary
Country Specific Assessments
Country summary EN
pdf, 245.42 KB
Questionnaire EN
pdf, 996.59 KB
30 /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 Burkina Faso compared to others

Global Average
45
Benin
79
Côte d'Ivoire
54
Cameroon
50
Senegal
42
Dem. Rep. of Congo
41
Niger
33
Burkina Faso
30
Mali
10
Chad
6
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Burkina Faso’s ranking: 94 of 125 countries

0
100

How has the transparency score for Burkina Faso changed over time?

23
2012
43
2015
24
2017
31
2019
31
2021
30
2023
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Public availability of budget documents in Burkina Faso

Key
Available to the Public
Published Late, or Not Published Online, or Produced for Internal Use Only
Not Produced
Scroll
Document 2012 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023
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 Burkina Faso makes available to the public?

Key
61-100 / 100
41-60 / 100
1-40 / 100
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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. 2023 84
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. 2023 23
Enacted Budget The budget that has been approved by the legislature. 2022 78
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. 2022 67
In-Year Reports Include information on actual revenues collected, actual expenditures made, and debt incurred at different intervals; issued quarterly or monthly. 2022 59
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. 2022 15
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. 2021 Internal Use
Audit Report Issued by the supreme audit institution, this document examines the soundness and completeness of the government's year-end accounts. 2020 Not Produced

Burkina Faso’s transparency score of 30 in the OBS 2023 is near its score in 2021.

What changed in OBS 2023?

Burkina Faso has increased the availability of budget information by:

Publishing the Mid-Year Review online.
However, Burkina Faso has decreased the availability of budget information by:

Recommendations

Burkina Faso should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

Publish the Year-End Report online in a timely manner.
Produce and publish the Audit Report online in a timely manner.
Include in the Executive's Budget Proposal data on debt, data on the financial position of the government and data on the macroeconomic forecast.
Improve the comprehensiveness of the In-Year Reports by including information related to the composition of total actual debt outstanding. The comprehensiveness of the Mid-Year Review should also be improved by providing updated total-year expenditure estimates by administrative, economic, and functional classifications as well as by individual program, and by providing updated total-year revenue estimates by category as well as by individual source.
Efforts should be made to ensure that the website of the Direction Générale du Budget (https://www.dgb.gov.bf/) does not experience extended service outages, which can prevent the public from accessing needed information at key stages of the budget cycle.
11 /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.

Burkina Faso has a public participation score of 11 (out of 100).

Public participation in Burkina Faso compared to others

Global Average
15
Dem. Rep. of Congo
33
Benin
31
Cameroon
20
Burkina Faso
11
Mali
9
Côte d'Ivoire
4
Chad
0
Niger
0
Senegal
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

27
/100
Formulation
(executive)
0
/100
Approval
(legislature)
17
/100
Implementation
(executive)
0
/100
Audit
(supreme audit institution)
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Burkina Faso's Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development has established pre-budget submissions during budget formulation and public consultations during budget implementation but, to further strengthen public participation in the budget process, should also prioritize the following actions:

Expand mechanisms during budget formulation and implementation to 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.

Burkina Faso's Transitional Legislative Assembly should prioritize the following actions:

Allow members of the public or civil society organizations 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.

Burkina Faso's Court of Audit 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.
39 /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 legislature and supreme audit institution in Burkina Faso, together, provide weak oversight during the budget process, with a composite oversight score of 39 (out of 100). Taken individually, the extent of each institution’s oversight is shown below:

Legislative oversight

0
39
100
weak

Audit oversight

0
39
100
weak
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Burkina Faso's Transitional Legislative Assembly provides limited oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and weak oversight during the implementation stage. To 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.
Legislative committees should examine the Executive’s Budget Proposal and publish reports with their analysis online.
A legislative committee should examine in-year budget implementation and publish reports with their findings online.
In practice, ensure the legislature is consulted before the executive shifts funds specified in the Enacted Budget between administrative units; spends any unanticipated revenue; or reduces spending due to revenue shortfalls during the budget year.
A legislative committee should examine the Audit Report and publish a report with their findings online.

To strengthen independence and improve audit oversight by the Burkina Faso Court of Audit, the following actions are recommended:

Grant the Court of Audit full powers to undertake audits as it sees fit.
Ensure the Court has adequate funding to perform its duties, as determined by an independent body (e.g., the legislature or judiciary).
Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.

The emerging practice of establishing independent fiscal institutions

Burkina Faso does not have an independent fiscal institution (IFI). IFIs are increasingly recognized as valuable independent and nonpartisan information providers to the Executive and/or Parliament during the budget process.

*These indicators are *not* scored in the Open Budget Survey.

Methodology

Only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31 December 2022 were assessed in the OBS 2023.
 
The survey is based on a questionnaire completed in each country by an independent budget expert:
Agnès Kabore; Simon Pierre Douamba
Centre pour la Gouvernance Démocratique
Ouaga 2000 Rue Charles Billa Kabore
[email protected]
To further strengthen the research, each country’s draft questionnaire is also reviewed by an anonymous independent expert, and in Burkina Faso by representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Development and Court of Audit (for a subset of questions).
Past reports
Years
Language
Country summary EN
PDF, en
Questionnaire EN
PDF, en
Country summary FR
PDF, fr
Country summary EN
PDF, en
Questionnaire EN
PDF, en
Country summary FR
PDF, fr
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR
Country summary EN
PDF, EN
Questionnaire EN
PDF, EN
Country summary FR
PDF, FR