Questions you might ask
yourself or your government about under-expenditures that are a
result of barriers to access and/or lack of capacity on the part of
governmental officials.
Do specific ministries, departments or agencies (MDAs) regularly under-spend their allocations? If so, which ones, and what are the
reasons they do so? Do any sub-national governments regularly under-spend allocations in their budgets? If so, which ones, and why?
Are there specific program areas within MDAs that regularly under-spend? If so, what are the reasons? Are specific program areas of
sub-national governments regularly under-spent? If so, which ones? For what reasons?
Is under-spending, whether by the national government or sub-national governments, more consistent in certain areas of the country?
In urban or in rural areas? If so, what are the reasons?
Are certain groups of people more negatively affected by under-spending, whether by MDAs or in program areas, than others? If so, which
ones and why?
What measures, if any has the government taken to address the problem of under-spending? How has it responded to reports by
oversight institutions like the Supreme Audit Institution and questions by the legislature that refer to under-spending in ESC rightsrelated programs?
When under-spending with regard to ESC rights-related programs has been the result of barriers that have impeded the access of
intended beneficiaries to a program, what steps has the government taken to eliminate those barriers?
When under-spending on ESC rights-related programs has been due to the incapacity of government officials—whether at the national
or sub-national level—to efficiently implement the programs, what steps has the government taken to bring that capacity up to the
necessary level?
When programs in ESC rights-related areas under-spend, what is the procedure for deciding for the roll-over of such funds into the next
fiscal year? Are efforts made to protect these funds or are they returned to the Ministry of Finance indiscriminately?