Budget democratisation

UNTIL about a decade ago, elected representatives in our national and provincial assemblies had no real role in the budget process except for collectively lending their names to the document’s approval.

The drafting of budget proposals had, of course, always been the exclusive domain of the executive, but even when proposals were laid before the elected Houses, there was hardly any meaningful opportunity for members to comprehend, let alone scrutinise, the budget documents running into thousands of printed pages...