SA tops list on transparency

The South African Treasury has taken top honours in the world for the amount of information it gives on the national budget.

But an Idasa analyst warned that if secrecy proposals currently before parliament go through, it could be the last time that the country wins the accolade.

The Washington-based International Budget Partnership yesterday moved South Africa from second place two years ago to the top of the list of 94 countries ranked in its Open Budget Index with 92 points out of a possible 100.

Britain moved down from first to third and New Zealand took second place.

"[SA shows] greater transparency, enables better oversight, better access to credit, better policy choices and better service delivery," Warren Krafchik, director of the International Budget Partnership, said.

Russel Wildeman of Idasa's economic governance programme said the rating proved the success of the government's budget transformation launched in 1997.

But he said it was ironic that South Africa had moved into first place just as parliament was debating the Protection of Information Bill, which could reverse the growing transparency.

"The bill would be a great concern given the global status we have just achieved.

"With South Africa involved in complex international trade negotiations, we could get into a situation where Treasury officials decide it would be better to withhold information," he said.

The report said South Africa was one of only seven countries that released extensive budget information.

Forty of the 94 countries assessed released no significant information at all.

The report singled out the sequence of information from medium-term planning to pre-budget information and regular post-budget reports on implementation.

It also recognised the extent of parliamentary oversight and the power given to MPs to tinker with the treasury's proposals.

"The worst performers include China, Saudi Arabia, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, and newly democratic Iraq, which provide little to no information to their citizens," the report said.