Budget and Expenditure Monitoring Forum

Context

The forum has been in existence since 2009. Members come from a broad range of sectors including those who directly implement community monitoring. Forum members operate at all levels of government, from the national to the local levels. The forum does, however, have priority provinces where most of its members are based and where technical and advocacy support is most often directed. These provinces include Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. Member organisations directly involved in community monitoring include the Treatment Action Campaign and the Free State Aids Coalition.

Website
www.section27.org.za
Area of Work
South Africa
Contact Person
Daygan Eagar

Approaches to implementing Community monitoring/accountability

One of the forum’s main aims is to ensure that the political landscape is conducive to the community monitoring undertaken by our community-based members. This is achieved through advocacy that includes the possibility of litigation. The forum also serves as a mechanism for members to learn about community monitoring and receive training on topics and tools that will assist them in doing this. Key to this has been to educate them on their rights and responsibilities. The forum does not undertake community monitoring but rather provides support to organizations that do. This includes sharing information, identifying the need for training and facilitating partnerships.

Results and Lessons

  • Evidence based community monitoring has allowed for greater participation in the governance of the health system. This has served to give effect to the promise of South Africa’s Constitution that demands public participation in all spheres of government.
  • Community monitoring  allows for the voice of those worst affected by poor service delivery to be heard.  Community monitoring is therefore empowering.
  • Long-term support from stakeholders, including community members themselves, remains a challenge. For the forum it is difficult to sustain the participation of organizations beyond a small core group. This limits opportunities to develop networks to support groups involved in community based monitoring.
  • For community monitoring to work, there needs to be a great deal of institutional support to develop the capacity of community members to engage in evidence based monitoring. This requires support from all levels of government and a multitude of role-players with differing skills and capacities. The risk here, however, is that interests other than those of the community may start to take precedence. It is therefore necessary for communities and community based organisations to lead projects and identify partners they want to work with.  Ownership needs to be clearly articulated.