Parliament, the Budget and Poverty in South Africa. A Shift in Power: A Shift in Power

Contributors

CONTRIBUTORS TANIA AJAM Tania Ajam is a public finance economist with broad experience in the design, analysis and implementation of fiscal policy, intergovernmental fiscal relations and sectoral public budget management. She is director of the knowledge centre at the Applied Fiscal Research Centre (Pty) Ltd (AFReC), a training and consulting company affiliated to the University of Cape Town. She is also the managing director of PBS (Pty) Ltd, which implements performance budgeting systems. Tania also serves on the Financial and Fiscal Commission. KATE LEFKO-EVERETT Kate Lefko-Everett is the project leader of the reconciliation barometer at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. From 2004-2009 she worked as a researcher for Idasa’s Southern African Migration Project and Political Information and Monitoring Service (PIMS) where her research focused on poverty and inequality, social security, governance and the public service. AHMED MOHAMED Ahmed Mohamed worked as a budget researcher in Idasa’s PIMS in 2008 and 2009. He is currently the parliamentary information and monitoring manager for Equal Education, a Cape Town-based NGO which advocates for quality and equal education in South Africa. LEN VERWEY Len Verwey manages the Budget Unit of Idasa’s PIMS. His research has included work on budgeting and socio-economic rights, the role of Parliament in the budget, political economic debates in South Africa and their budgetary implications, and the challenges of budgeting at sub-national level in South Africa. He has coordinated Idasa’s responses to the South African Budget and Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in recent years. JOACHIM WEHNER Dr Joachim Wehner is a lecturer in public policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he is also a member of the public policy group and the political science and political economy research group. Previously, he worked at Idasa’s Budget Information Service. His research interests include comparative public budgeting, fiscal performance and decentralisation. He is completing a book on legislatures and the budget process. MUSA ZAMISA Musa Zamisa is a researcher in the PIMS Budget Unit at Idasa. His research focuses on aspects of participatory budgeting in the South African environment. His research has included work on the importance of participatory budgeting for socio-economic development and the achievement of greater social justice. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As with all books, this publication would not have been possible without the support of a number of people and institutions. Firstly, our sincere thanks to the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Pretoria, for their funding of Idasa’s Political Information and Monitoring Service, which made this publication possible. We are also very grateful to Idasa’s Publishing Department for their enthusiasm, hard work and high levels of professionalism. This project benefited considerably from the guidance, support and, where needed , highly active involvement of Judith February, the PIMS Programme Manager. Thank you. Lastly, our thanks to Paul Graham, Executive Director of Idasa, for writing the foreword and providing useful comments at various stages of the process. The Editors September 2009 ...