The government is focused on increasing transparency, openness, and public participation with every new budget.
This was stated by Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr. Aisha Ghous Pasha during a meeting with Aideen Gilmore and Rashida Dohad – International Budget Partnership & Omar Asghar Khan Foundation at Finance Division today.
The minister was briefed about the various parameters of the Open Budget Survey (OBS) and Pakistan’s progress on it. The delegation presented various proposals for enhancing Pakistan’s score on OBS. It was shared that Pakistan is doing well on the executive parameters of OBS.
Dr. Pasha acknowledged the proposals presented by the delegation and informed them that the budgeting process in Pakistan is being made transparent with every passing year. For greater public participation in budget-making, the present government organized a pre-budget conference to take the proposals from representatives of all sectors of the economy.
She also apprised the delegation that public participation in budget-making is the prime focus of the present government and various pragmatic suggestions of public representatives from various sectors of the economy have been considered and incorporated into the current budget.
The minister assured the delegation that proposed suggestions will be considered and directed the relevant authorities to undertake the required steps for enhancing public participation for greater transparency and efficiency in the budget.
Senior officers from AGPR and Finance Division also attended the meeting.
