By Jessy Chahine
Daily StarJuly 28, 2003
Four organizations convened on Friday and Saturday during a two-day workshop on "Applied Budget Work for NGOs" at the headquarters of the Social Economic Council in Downtown Beirut. Participating organizations were the Lebanese Physically Handicapped Union (LPHU), the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA), the International Budget Project(IBP) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI). The purpose of the workshop was to broaden the understanding of the budget process and to discuss civil society's role in its development, as well as to identify ways in which the budget can be made more transparent and accessible to citizen input. The agenda featured case studies from various Lebanese organizations engaged in trying to influence budget priorities, as well as presentations by representatives from the Finance Ministry, Parliament and advocacy organizations. Jim Saint George, a senior budget analyst from IBP, conducted several sessions. He said the IBP has conducted programs around the globe to assist NGOs in sharpening their budget analysis skills as an advocacy tool.
"The budget is the most important economic and social document published by any government. It reflects government's true priorities," Saint George said. "It is only through the budget that government actually funds investments like education, health care, infrastructure, defense, and poverty-reduction strategies that are crucial to national growth and prosperity. The budget is policy stripped of rhetoric."
Sylvana Lakkis, representing the LPHU, also focused on the importance of planning for budget priorities. "From our successes and failures in the disability movement in Lebanon, we all have learned how vitally important it is for our voices to be heard on budget priorities if we are to move our issues forward," Lakkis said. "We recognize that by arming ourselves with information and by looking at our issues in the context of the bigger picture we can be more effective advocates." The LPHU has been working in coalition with other organizations since 1981 to improve the standard of living for people with disabilities.
Mohammed Matar, president of the LTA, said: "The interaction between democracy and accountability can hardly be overstated, for accountability is indeed the linchpin of democracy. But accountability cannot be administered in the absence of transparency which presupposes the right of the public to access the information."
Matar also said that "the enactment of a comprehensive access to information law not only allows citizens to hold their elected legislators and government officials accountable but more importantly gives them a rational and objective yardstick against which they can assess and judge legislative and executive policies."
The LTA is working on engaging the government and citizens in the promotion of values and practices of transparency. One of its current activities is a campaign for the adoption of the access to information law which empowers citizens and NGOs to hold their officials accountable. The LTA works closely with the NDI, a non-governmental organization aiming to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. The NDI's Lebanon programs focus primarily on civil society and public policy.
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