BurkinaFaso BMET Training Brief 12 November 2021
As a part of the implementation of the Right to Grow Project (R2G), the Centre for Economic Governance and Accountability in Africa (CEGAA), based in South Africa, in collaboration with the Civil Society Network for Nutrition RESONUT Burkina and its partners in Mali organized from 02 to 05 November 2021, in Ouagadougou, a capacity building session for 32 civil society actors from Mali and Burkina-Faso on budget analysis, monitoring and advocacy for nutrition, food security and Wash. These actors include the Groupe de Suivi Budgétaire (GSB), World Vision, OMES, AMADECOM, Stop Sahel, Action contre la Faim Mali-Espagne, Save the Children International, Action contre la Faim (ACF) Burkina Faso, The Hunger Project Burkina, the Association Monde Rural and RESONUT.
The objective of the training workshop was to equip participants with the skills to conduct budget analyses and monitor the execution of communal, regional and national budgets. The session was facilitated by Etienne YEMEK and Joshua KARUME of CEGAA. On Tuesday, 2 November 2021, the International Training Workshop on Budget Monitoring and Expenditure Tracking of Public Resources (BMET) started in the conference room of the Royale Beach Hotel in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso).
The opening ceremony was marked by three speeches: the welcoming remarks by the President of the Board of Directors of RESONUT, Mrs. Valentine BAKYONO, the keynote address by Joshua KARUME from CEGAA and the opening remarks by Hubert OUEDRAOGO from Save the Children International, leader of the R2G consortium in Burkina Faso. The formal opening ceremony was followed by a family photo of all the workshop participants.
Hubert OUEDRAOGO (Save the children), Joshua Karume (CEGAA), Mrs. Valentine BAKYONO (RESONUT), Etienne Yemek (CEGAA), and Diedonne (RESONUT Coordinator)
The workshop proceeded with:
- Introduction of the participants (all participants)
- Presentation of the agenda by Joshua Karume
- Presentation of the objectives and expected results by Joshua Karume and Etienne Yemek
The presentations started with an overview of the budgetary related work of the Civil Society Organizations. The facilitators provided an overview of how BMET has been used in the region for change with practical examples from the SADC and East African region. The next module focused on the budget and the budget cycle. It started with a brainstorming on the definition of the budget and the relationship between policy - budget - citizen.
For group work the GSB and RESONUT reviewed the country's budget calendar and identified specific dates and responsible decision makers to target, identify CSO entry points and actions for advocacy.
The second day of training started with the report of the first day presented and amended. Two modules were addressed during the day and were presented by Etienne YEMEK, including the fundamentals of economics and the Principles of good budgeting.
The first presentation was devoted to the basic notions of the economic and social framework. To set the scene, Etienne YEMEK returned to the concept of budget and expenditures. He recalled that the goal of the workshop is foremost to understand the role of the State and to take ownership of the budget. Returning to the content of the module, the three key principles of good budgeting were outlined by the facilitator. These are: Participation; Transparency and Accountability. At the end of the group work, the elements of the budget such as revenues and expenditures, the budget nomenclature, the budget appropriation and the budget line were defined by the trainer and discussed with participants who were split in groups
Day 3 & 4
The sessions focused on costing to understand resource needs and funding gap issues;
Participants have learned the basics and principles of the results-based budgeting (RBM) framework and program-based budgeting to improve their own knowledge and skills in budget planning for nutrition and WASH;
• They also acquired skills and mastery of budget analysis and expenditure tracking tools:
• Understanding the relevance and importance of developing and engaging in budget advocacy strategies;
• Learned how to develop a budget advocacy plan, messages and campaigns
At the end of the 4th day, participants received certificates for participation in the training workshop on budget analysis, monitoring and advocacy..
