Specialists underline the importance of making national budgets transparent in a participatory manner for sustainable recovery

Leading specialists in transparency and public budget today underlined the importance of making national budgets transparent in a participatory manner for sustainable and equitable recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, during a seminar organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES). ) of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in conjunction with the Fiscal Expenditure Observatory of Chile, the International Budget Partnership (IBP) and the Government of the Republic of Korea.

The seminar on Budget Transparency for a Sustainable Post-COVID Recovery: Challenges for Chile and the Region was held in a hybrid manner -face-to-face and virtual- at ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile. It was inaugurated by Orlando Rojas, Executive Director of the Fiscal Expenditure Observatory of Chile, Yoo Soo Ah, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Chile, and Valeria Torres, Officer in charge of the Public Management and Open Government Area of ​​ILPES. .

Representatives from the Comptroller General of the Republic, the Budget Directorate, the Office of Information and Budget Analysis of the Senate and the Observatory of Fiscal Expenditure of Chile, and the International Budget Partnership (IBP) participated.

The event, which was followed by more than 350 people who connected remotely, sought to exchange experiences, good practices and knowledge on budget transparency in Latin America and the Caribbean, and to discuss challenges and advances in the matter for Chile and The region from the results of the latest Open Budget survey of the IBP and the experience of the Government of the Republic of Korea in this area.

He also sought to relieve the importance of open budgetary practices to accelerate compliance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

At the opening of the event, the Officer in charge of the Public Management and Open Government Area of ​​ILPES, Valeria Torres, emphasized the important role of the public budget in strengthening the credibility and legitimacy of governments and public institutions, by promoting their transparency. and openness towards citizens, as well as for the incorporation of multiple actors in their decision processes, and to improve the quality of spending towards sustainable development and an inclusive, sustainable and equitable post-pandemic recovery.

For his part, the Executive Director of the Fiscal Expenditure Observatory of Chile, Orlando Rojas, raised the challenge of institutionalizing these practices for many countries in the region, including the Chilean context.

The First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Chile, Yoo Soo Ah, meanwhile, referred to the importance of digitizing governments and closing the digital divide and the role of transparency on this issue.

After knowing the results of the last measurement of the Open Budget Survey of the IBP at the global, regional and Chilean levels, a space for dialogue and exchange was opened between the representatives of the three actors of the Chilean State with competence in matters of open budgets (the Comptroller General of the Republic, the Budget Directorate of the Ministry of Finance and the legislative body through the Office of Information and Budgetary Analysis of the Senate) regarding the achievements, existing gaps and proposals for moving forward.

In the closing of the meeting, the president of the Board of Directors of the Fiscal Expenditure of Chile, Alvaro Ramírez Aluja and the director of Ilpes, Heaven Morales participated.

In his closing remarks, Cielo Morales reflected on the importance of strengthening a strategic orientation of public spending, and turning it into a development instrument to improve the efficiency and transparency in the use of public resources.