DUSHANBE, February 19, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- A roundtable took place in Dushanbe on February 19 to discuss findings of the survey on the budget transparency index that was conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP).

Organized by the Tajik Branch of Open Society Institute/Assistance Foundation (OSI/AF-Tajikistan) jointly with the Ministry of Finance of Tajikistan under financial support of the IBP, the meeting brought together representatives from relevant ministries and agencies, international financial institutions active in Tajikistan, civil society and media.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Finance, Shavkat Sohibov, noted that the public budget transparency index was useful for the Tajik authorities.

OSI/AF-Tajikistan CEO, Ms. Zuhro Halimova, noted that any indices conducted by international organizations were not universal panacea.

She pointed to the necessity of active participation of the public in the budget discussions.  According to Ms. Halimova, it is necessary to set some institutions for public hearings at local levels.  “Such hearings must become one of the main components for creation of budgets,” OSI/AF-Tajikistan CEO noted.

Sobir Qurbonov, an economist, DFID Office in Tajikistan, noted that findings of the first survey on Tajikistan’s budget openness showed that civil society of the country was not well aware of the budget process or information or information did not always reach them.

“Today it is necessary not only to improve the technology of the budget process technology, it is also necessary to raise quality of the services rendered by state institutions,” Qurbonov noted.

The meeting resulted in working out a raft resolution on further steps to implement the IBP recommendations on enhancement of Tajikistan’s budget openness index that will be published within the next few days.

The International Budget Partnership collaborates with civil society around the world to use budget analysis and advocacy as a tool to improve effective governance and reduce poverty.