CABRI is starting the 2025 year with exciting news – the Budgets in Africa (BiA) has been updated with the latest budget documents from 42 African countries!

Launched in June 2016, the BiA database offers access to publicly available budget documents from 54 African countries, such as Pre-Budget Statement, Executive’s Budget Proposal, Budget Speeches, Fiscal and Macro Policy Frameworks, Medium-Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEFs), estimates of National Expenditure and other budget-related matters.

Why the Budgets in Africa (BiA)?

Although governments in Africa are trying to reform public financial management, progress seems limited, especially in the vital areas of strategic and transparent budget resource allocation. Various challenges within the PFM cycle—including budget credibility, financial disclosures, asset and liability management, budget execution, and financial reporting—intertwine with incomplete reforms, jeopardizing the integrity of PFM systems. Moreover, fiscal discipline is further threatened by delays and gaps in financial reporting, discrepancies between planned and actual revenues and expenditures, and the inability of many governments to secure internal and external audit needed to meet internationally recognized standards.

The BiA’s Budget Enquirer focuses on providing African countries with a platform to make budget information more easily accessible and facilitate access to budget documentation to governments, civil society groups, academics and researchers. The BiA’s Africa Public Debt Monitor also provide a unique platform for sharing information on African central government debt and debt-management policies, practices, and institutional arrangements that assists African Central Governments – to enhance debt transparency across the content and facilitate analysis that can guide governments in a path of sustainable borrowing.

Through the BiA, CABRI is shaping the African PFM landscape in many ways:

• Enhancing Transparency: The BiA makes budget information openly available and allows everyone, from public officials to citizens and civil society organizations, to better monitor and evaluate how the governments spend public money, thereby promoting fiscal transparency across the continent.
• Facilitating Research and Analysis: BiA is a valuable resource for researchers, policymakers, and academics. Detailed budget data allows for in-depth studies, helping to identify trends, patterns, and differences in financial policies and transparency measures.
• Empowering Stakeholders: BiA gives various stakeholders the information they need to engage effectively in governance and advocacy. Furthermore, public officials can compare their transparency practices with other countries and adapt good practices that improve their PFM reforms. Meanwhile, citizens and civil society organizations can access important budget information to hold their governments accountable and push for better use of public funds.
• Supporting Evidence-Based Decision-Making: With a comprehensive database of African budgets, CABRI and its partners can perform meaningful analysis that informs policy decisions. This data-driven approach helps improve budget allocations, ensuring that funds are directed toward projects that promote economic growth and reduce poverty. The BiA helps the public in obtaining more precise data regarding budget performance and deviations, along with sector-specific expenditure breakdowns. This empowers decision-makers and citizens to assess key performance indicators, thereby promoting effective and efficient government service delivery, bolstering budget implementation, and fostering greater accountability.

Despite its many benefits, implementing and maintaining BiA comes with challenges. In terms of data collection and standardization, CABRI is gathering budget data from 54 different countries which requires significant resources and coordination. Ensuring that all data is consistent and accurate is essential for maintaining the database’s credibility. CABRI addresses this by working closely with national governments, civil society organizations, and other partners to ensure the data is correct, up-to-date, and standardized.

A vision for the BiA

Going forward, CABRI plans to further improve the BiA through different methods with advanced data analytics tools for sophisticated analytics and visualization that will allow for more detailed and insightful analyses of budget data, giving stakeholders deeper insights into financial policies and trends. Incorporating real-time updates will ensure users have access to the latest budget information, making BiA even more useful for monitoring and evaluating government finances. In addition, developing mobile-friendly versions of BiA will make it easier for users in areas with limited access to computers to access budget information, broadening the platform’s reach.

CABRI's Budgets in Africa (BiA) is a groundbreaking initiative that is revolutionizing public financial management across the continent. By providing a centralized platform for accessing and analyzing budget data, BiA empowers stakeholders, promotes transparency and accountability, and supports evidence-based decision-making. As CABRI continues to develop and improve BiA, it will play an increasingly crucial role in helping African nations achieve their development goals.