Participatory budgeting, discussed during a specialized forum

The representatives of the Court of Accounts participated today, October 8, in the Annual Forum on budgetary participation "Inform, empower, act!" held in a teleconference format. The event was organized by the Independent Analytical Center "Expert-Grup", in partnership with the Institute of European Policies and Reforms and the Center for Eastern European Studies (Lithuania), within the project funded by the European Union and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (Germany).

The forum also brought together representatives of central and local public authorities, parliamentary committees, the donor community and the development partners, the civil society and the academic environment.

The event is a national platform for high-level discussions on the opportunities and challenges of implementing the principles of budget participation at central and local level. The forum aims to raise awareness among policy makers, local public authorities, civil society, the donor community and the media about the importance of transparency and budgetary participation to ensure the effectiveness of the budget process.

During the forum, was presented the online platform for budget participation www.bugetulmeu.md, which aims to increase the involvement of civil society at local level and to increase the transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of budgeting and execution processes, through participation and monitoring by the society. In the panels, the participants discussed topics focused on the main challenges related to promoting budget participation, the policy skills needed to promote participatory budgeting at the local level and the importance of budget participation for expanding LPAs' access to local capital investment.

Budgetary participation can contribute to social development, by ensuring a transparent, open and inclusive budgetary process, if decision makers, LPAs and communities will support and promote the process. We mention that the topics discussed are important for the Court of Accounts, the practical interest being defined by addressing, in the audits performed, the problems and progress made in the investment activity both at central and local level.

The Court of Accounts presented the results of the Health Sector Modernization Program to the Public Finance Control Committee

The Court of Accounts presented the results of the audits of the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development to the Profile Committee