Today, CABRI joined UNICEF South Africa’s Public Finance Webinar on the 2025 Open Budget Survey (OBS). The webinar focused on South Africa's findings, with discussions centred on public participation, budget oversight, and transparency.
Olaniyi Olaleye, Public Financial Management (PFM) Specialist at CABRI, participated in the webinar alongside representatives from the National Treasury of South Africa. Mr Olaleye shared CABRI’s findings on the 2025 Budget Practices and Procedures (BPP) Survey.
South Africa has advanced PFM systems, featuring established foundations for budgeting, such as medium-term expenditure frameworks and Programme-Based Budgeting (PBB). The 2025 BBP Survey, which reviewed 18 countries, indicates a progression beyond basic PFM reforms, emphasising budget transparency and documentation, supported by strong parliamentary research. As such, in the 2025 OBS Survey, which reviewed 82 countries, South Africa scored 2nd for the overall transparency of its budget documents, 17th for public participation, and 4th for oversight by Parliament and the Auditor General.
Looking at the abovementioned, it is evident that high transparency does not guarantee meaningful public participation.
In his discussion, Mr Olaleye made a comparative analysis of Kenya and South Africa. Kenya's improvements are a result of demands for revenue and openness, digital fiscal systems, and increasing public participation. In South Africa, the dominant shift is shaped by political transition toward coalition governance and tightening fiscal space. Both countries face a shared challenge of balancing openness with fiscal authority and control.
Mr Olaleye further highlighted that across countries, the most effective reforms tend to be those that connect transparency, participation, oversight, and fiscal accountability into a coherent system rather than treating them as separate initiatives.