1.0Verité Researchhttps://www.veriteresearch.orgChalani Ranwalahttps://www.veriteresearch.org/author/chalani_ranwala/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://www.veriteresearch.org/2020/06/09/sls-budget-openness-improved-but-still-below-global-benchmark/">SL’s Budget openness: Improved but still below global benchmark</a></blockquote> <script type='text/javascript'> <!--//--><![CDATA[//><!-- /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(l.querySelector)if(d.addEventListener)e=!0;if(d.wp=d.wp||{},!d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage)if(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(t)if(t.secret||t.message||t.value)if(!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){var r,a,i,s,n,o=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]');for(r=0;r<c.length;r++)c[r].style.display="none";for(r=0;r<o.length;r++)if(a=o[r],e.source===a.contentWindow){if(a.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(i=parseInt(t.value,10)))i=1e3;else if(~~i<200)i=200;a.height=i}if("link"===t.message)if(s=l.createElement("a"),n=l.createElement("a"),s.href=a.getAttribute("src"),n.href=t.value,n.host===s.host)if(l.activeElement===a)d.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),d.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(!o){o=!0;var e,t,r,a,i=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),s=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),n=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content");for(t=0;t<n.length;t++){if(!(r=n[t]).getAttribute("data-secret"))a=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),r.src+="#?secret="+a,r.setAttribute("data-secret",a);if(i||s)(e=r.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),r.parentNode.replaceChild(e,r)}}}}(window,document); //--><!]]> </script><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.veriteresearch.org/2020/06/09/sls-budget-openness-improved-but-still-below-global-benchmark/embed/" width="600" height="338" title="“SL’s Budget openness: Improved but still below global benchmark” — Verité Research" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe>https://www.veriteresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/OBS_Web_03.jpg1200750Taken from – AdaDerana Sri Lanka has been placed at 54th position among 117 nations in terms of budget transparency and accountability, according to the Open Budget Survey (OBS) 2019, which was released recently. The OBS, conducted by International Budget Partnership (IBP) is the world’s only independent, comparative, and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information, formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process, and the role of budget oversight institutions such as the legislature and auditor in the budget process. The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 7th edition of the OBS covers 117 countries. The survey is conducted every two years and the 2019 cycle of the OBS has placed Sri Lanka 54th out of 117 countries, with a budget transparency score of 47/100. Sri Lanka has been gradually improving its budget transparency, increasing its scores from 39 and 44 in the 2015 and 2017 cycles of the OBS. However, Despite the improvements, Sri Lanka’s score still falls below the minimum benchmark score of 61 needed to be classified as...