by Kari Grenade, PhD, Caribbean Economist and Macroeconomic Advisor
In the context of governments’ operations, fiscal transparency is simply making fiscal information and data available to the public.
At minimum, fiscal information and data disseminated to the public should include actual and projected revenue, expenditure, the overall fiscal position, assets, and liabilities. Details of the fiscal policy-making process and fiscal risks are also important to share with the public. Additionally, the true or estimated costs and benefits of governments’ activities, including their present and future economic, social, and environmental implications should also be shared.
International good practice requires that governments’ fiscal reports be accessible, not merely available. They should be published widely on governments’ websites with free public access. Fiscal reports should also be relevant and reliable, they should also be completed and published in a timely manner so that the relevance of the information and data is not diminished due to delayed completion and publication. Governments’ fiscal reports should also be comprehensive, comparable across countries and regions, and understandable to readers.
In many Caribbean countries, there are laws governing the conduct of public financial management that mandate the wide publication of governments’ fiscal data and information. Fiscal transparency is crucially important to promote accountability and overall good fiscal governance. In a practical sense, promoting accountability and good fiscal governance means that the public (be it ordinary citizens, financial market observers and participants, investors, media, students, civil society for example) is able to assess and form opinions about important matters such as the credibility and integrity of governments’ budgets, governments’ stewardship of the public’s resources, the economic and social impact of fiscal policies, and the strategic nature of fiscal policies (how aligned they are to sector and broader national development priorities). These are all matters that the public should be interested in and have a right to be informed about.
Technological advances, the rise of social media, and elevated awareness and consciousness of Caribbean citizens provide an enormous opportunity to create more accountable, efficient, responsive, and effective governments, which can only redound to the benefit of citizens.
The key takeaway is this: fiscal transparency enables stakeholders in the sustainable development process to have access to comprehensive data and information on governments’ decisions, revenue, expenditure, liabilities, assets, outcomes, and results. This enables a more informed Caribbean citizen, empowers the democratic process, and contributes to the overall good governance of Caribbean countries.