Good financial governance will be limited unless African governments, in general, effect significant improvements in fiscal and budget transparency. Transparency is a crucial value in the management of public resources. The availability of reliable, regular, comprehensive, useful and accessible information on resource decisions is a prerequisite for the accountable management of public funds. Both internal and external transparency is required. Without good information on tax and other sources of revenue, expenditure and debt, members of parliament, public auditors and the electorate cannot hold the executive to account. African governments can improve budget transparency relatively quickly by publishing for public scrutiny all of the budget information they already produce. Moving from nominal transparency to active transparency (more information provided in a way that is meaningful) is a much greater challenge.