The Caribbean Policy Research Institute, (CAPRI) has recommended that the government allows citizen input to inform the budget proposal.

This is among a raft of suggestions outlined by CAPRI researcher, Morghan Phillips, in a report that detailed findings from a recent open budget survey.

Phillips was speaking last evening during a CAPRI forum dubbed ‘Budget scorecard, participation and oversight in the government budget process’.

The report looked at 3 criteria for openness, namely; transparency, participation and oversight, as well as made recommendations for improving Jamaica’s score.

Phillips noted that Jamaica ranks 55 out of 125 countries in the open budget survey, and that its overall score of 41 out of 100, for the 3 criteria for openness, is inadequate.

As it relates to participation, Phillips said, citizens should be allowed to give feedback on the budget, to parliament’s standing finance committee.

She said citizens should also be allowed to track the auditing process, and ensure their concerns are addressed.