By Hajaratu S. Bangura
At the Ministry of Information and Civic Education’s weekly press conference on April 7, 2026, the Chairman of the National Council for Civic Education and Democracy (NaCCED), Joseph Munda Bindi, highlighted the importance of the Citizens’ Budget in helping people understand government finances.
He said the national budget approved by Parliament is too large and complex for many citizens to understand. “The national budget is a bulky document that many people find difficult to read and understand,” he noted.
To address this, he added, NaCCED, working with the Ministry of Finance and supported by Oxford University experts, simplified the document. “We reduced the large volume into a small, easy-to-read book that anyone, even a primary school pupil, can understand in 10 to 15 minutes,” Chairman Bindi said. “This is the Citizens’ Budget, meaning the people’s budget.” He added that the simplified version, though less than 20 pages, captures “over 95 percent of the key information.” An animated drama version has also been produced to help non-literate citizens understand the budget.
Chairman Bindi said NaCCED is taking the Citizens’ Budget across the country to engage communities directly through what they call the Citizens’ Budget Campaign. “We are going around the country to help people clearly understand the budget,” he said, stressing that understanding builds trust and reduces doubt in government actions. He underscored that the campaign aims to educate citizens on how government raises and spends money. “We want people to understand how government generates revenue and how it is spent,” he said, noting that taxes paid by citizens are a key source of funding.
He urged citizens to not only support revenue generation but also monitor government spending. “When public funds are used for services, citizens should be able to monitor and ensure they get the best results,” he said.
Chairman Bindi concluded that the citizen’s budget is promoting transparency and accountability by empowering people with knowledge about how public money is managed.