“The Budget is Your Right” – Project to improve transparency of Provincial Councils

Together with our partners from Kirkuk Now we implement a new project funded by NDI that focus on transparency and accountability of Local Councils in the so called Disputed Territories in Northern Iraq.

Pictures: Kirkuk NOW

“The Budget is Your Right” is a community empowerment initiative focused on monitoring the role of provincial councils in the budgetary processes of Kirkuk, Ninawa, Diyala, and Salahaddin provinces in northern Iraq.

The project’s primary aim is to enhance transparency in budget formulation and foster open dialogue among local residents, officials, civil society organizations, and the media in these four provinces. By promoting fairness in resource allocation and strengthening democratic governance, the initiative aspires to make the budgeting process more inclusive and responsive to the community’s needs and voices.

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Spanning a period of ten months, the project comprises several key stages, including the formation of local administrations, monitoring provincial councils’ efforts in drafting and approving budgets, and overseeing the allocation of resources across different territories. It also tracks budget expenditures and the sectors they impact to ensure transparency and accountability.

Project Objectives:

Increase legislators’ accountability to citizens and promote fairness in the distribution of resources during the legislative budget process in the four northern provinces of Kirkuk, Nineveh, Diyala, and Salahaddin.

Picture: Disputed Territories in Iraq, Source: Wikmedia Commons

Raise public awareness in the provinces of Kirkuk, Nineveh, Diyala, and Salahaddin by providing accurate information on the legislative process, with a focus on disseminating findings from the budget monitoring efforts.
Foster constructive engagement between citizens, the media, and legislators at the provincial level to promote open dialogue and collaborative governance.