The primary objective of the post-budget talks is to deepen the public understanding of the budget. The role of the public in the journey.
Why then do we spend a lot of time talking and talking? Why not just communicate the budget. Going forward, I think the focus should be on the pre-budget. Our budget analysis should be proactive in guiding the government of the priority sectors where money should be put instead of waiting to discuss a budget after it has been passed. The exercise becomes another non-value adding activity since the budget is never adjusted to respond to the discussions!
More value can be added before the budget than after it has been read. Why then do our analysts wait for the budget to be approved and go into overdrive of analysing at several budget conferences that are usually held?
What is the value of all these budget analysis events?
After presenting the budget, the next stage should be to just communicate the budget. Show us the progress made since the last budgets? Are we on track? What are the gaps against the set targets and milestones? What are the lessons learned? What is the role of the public in the journey?
A budget is a one-year affair, that feeds into Medium Development Plans, which feed into Vision 2040, which feed into bigger national growth aspirations.
Where can we find a report that shows progress against the set milestones?
What is on your mind? Do you find the budget conversations value-adding? If yes, explain? If no, explain also.
Copyright Mustapha B Mugisa, Mr Strategy 2021. All rights reserved.
