Budgetary transparency has earned South Africa a top accolade in world terms. An international survey has ranked it in the top four countries worldwide. The survey by Open Budget Index placed South Africa fourth out of 59 countries, making it the only developing country in the top tier of the index, according to BuaNews. “One of the things the survey rates very highly is the amount of transparency, and the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement is a very important part [of this],” said Finance Minister Trevor Manuel last week when he delivered his medium-term budget speech to the National Assembly. The Open Budget Index 2006 is produced by a Washington DC-based non-governmental organisation that promotes budget transparency. South Africa scored 85 points out of 100 for the transparency of its budget in the survey which evaluates the quantity and quality of information provided to citizens. New Zealand scored the highest on the index, at 89 points, followed by France with 87 points, Britain with 86 points and then South Africa.
