Each of the 47 counties should have a County Budget and Economic Forum (CBEF). The CBEF is a forum for consultation by county governments on the budget process. The forum is provided for under Section 137 of the Public Finance Management Act.
Formation of the County Budget and Economic Forum (CBEF)
The Public Finance Management Act (PFM Act) does not stipulate the exact timeline that each county should establish a CBEF. Rather, it stipulates in Section 137(1) that every county should set up the Forum “as soon as practicable” after the commencement of the PFM Act.
Since the PFM Act came into operation after the final announcement of the results of the first elections under the Constitution in 2013, it should be practicable that every county should have already set up its own CBEF.
Composition of the County Budget and Economic Forum
The County Budget and Economic Forum for each county should consist of the following members:-
- The Governor who shall be the chairperson
- Other members of the County Executive Committee
- A number of representatives equal to the number of executive committee members appointed by the Governor. These persons should be nominated by (and represent) organisations representing professionals, business, labour issues, women, persons with disabilities, the elderly and faith based groups at the county level. The persons should not be drawn from county public officers.
Purpose of the County Budget and Economic Forum
The CBEF should provide a means for consultation by the county government on—
- Preparation of county plans, the County Fiscal Strategy Paper and the Budget Review and Outlook Paper for the county
- Matters relating to budgeting, the economy and financial management at the county level.
The consultations above should follow the consultation process provided in the County Governments Act.
Guidelines for the formation of the County Budget and Economic Forum
The CBEF is an integral part of public participation. It is meant to ensure inclusion, transparency and accountability in public finances. The county governments faced challenges in setting up their CBEFs. To aid them, the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) together with a number of civil society organizations involved in public finance came up with a set of guidelines to enable the counties to set up the CBEFs.
The guidelines provide a broad understanding of the-
- establishment
- composition
- nomination of the members
- functions; and
- consultation process for the CBEF.
See the Gudelines on the County Budget and Economic Forum (ext. link) for a more detailed information on those guidelines. You can also visit this link on IBP Kenya website for more research.
