International Parliamentary Forum on Budget Oversight (May 18-19, 2006)

The Governments of Cambodia and other South-East Asian countries have long recognized the fundamental importance of improving their administration of public finances. As such, development partners, including bilateral and multilateral donors, have strongly supported the efforts of Executives in the budget process. In recent years, there has been a realization by development partners of the need to provide investment in the role that other actors, including legislatures, play in the budget process. With the support and financing of CCLSP, UNDP, World Bank and other multilateral donors, the International Parliamentary Forum on Budget Oversight was held in Cambodia from May 18-19, 2006. The Forum aimed to help strengthen the National Assembly and Senate’s capacity to effectively oversee the budget and to assist them in understanding the Public Financial Management Reform Program launched by the Cambodian government in December 2004.

According to Cambodia’s Constitution, the members of the National Assembly and Senate, serving as the elected representatives of their constituents, have the responsibility to oversee the budget; therefore it is essential for the National Assembly and the Senate to fulfill that constitutional requirement by holding government accountable for the expenditure of public funds.

Parliamentarians recognized that the existence of an independent supreme audit institution is crucial in holding government to account, as well as admitted that the participation in budget oversight should include media, civil society organisations, donors and international financial bodies. The Forum strengthened the notion among parliamentarians that their participation in the budget cycle is a key instrument to fighting corruption, implementing poverty reduction policies, and ultimately improving public accountability and good governance in the country.

As a follow-up to the Forum, the CCLSP published a Budget Oversight Handbook for Parliamentarians. This Handbook provides an overview on the Budget Process in Cambodia and provides recommendations for Parliament’s role in the budget process. A draft of the Handbook was discussed in December 2006 at the Annual National Budget Workshop for parliamentarians and senior government officials involved in reviewing the draft law on the 2007 National Budget.