THE ROLE OF BUDGETING IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS:
A CASE STUDY OF ENUGU STATE MINISTRY OF WORKS AND HOUSING, ENUGU.
ABSTRACT
It is now a common knowledge that budgeting plays an invaluable role in our public institutions. However, the institutions have hardly used this administrative tool widely and as a result the desired transformation or change which budget would have effected in the society has not been achieved.
This shortcoming in using the budget to actualize organizational goals has compelled the researcher to study the role of budgeting in the management of public institutions, using ministry of works and housing, Enugu State, as a case study.
The researcher used both primary and secondary data sources. The primary data included the use of questionnaires, observation and interview. The researcher spent some time to mingle with the staff of ministry of works and Housing Enugu whereby certain observations on the study were taken note of. In the same vein, some of the staff were interviewed so that some questions that were not properly answered in the questionnaires were cleared through the use of interviews.
The Secondary source of data collection (Literature review) enabled the researcher to read as much materials that have been written on the subject matter as possible. It enabled the research to draw the theoretical frame works research questions etc.
The research design was essentially descriptive to ease the study. Data were presented, analyzed and interpreted using simple percentages.
The analysis and procedures was manual. From the data analyzed, findings were made which included notably that ministry of works and Housing Enugu carried out routine or yearly budgeting exercise which where not fully implemented. There have been frequent administrative changes in the ministry and that had affected budgeting adversely, that the public influence budgeting in the ministry and that budget implementation is not taken seriously by the ministry. Based on the findings recommendations were accordingly made. They were that budgeting should not be a mere yearly ritual exercise devoid of seriousness and commitment, that administrators of the ministry should not be changed too often to avoid its adverse affects. Public influence on the budgeting should be encouraged and that the implementation of budgets should be given priority that budgeting principles ought to be observed by public institutions to enable the desired changes or transformation to take place
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page
Certification
Dedication
Acknowledgement2
Abstracts
Table of contents
CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background and need of the study
1.2 Statement of the problem
1.3 Objective of the study
1.4 Theoretical foundations of the study
1.5 Research questions
1.6 Significance of the study
1.7 Scope of the study
1.8 Limitation of the study
1.9 Definition of terms and acronyms
References
CHAPTER TWO:
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Concept and definition of budget
2.2 Elements of budgets
2.3 Types of budgets
2.4 Techniques and tools for budgeting
2.5 Zero-base budgeting (zbb)
2.6 Government revenue and expenditure
2.7 Annual estimates
2.8 Control of expenditures
2.9 Cost consciousness in spending public funds
2.10 The budgeting cycle
2.11 Deficiencies of the traditional budgeting
References
CHAPTER THREE:
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research method and design
3.2 Sources of data
3.3 Location of the study
3.4 Data collection
3.5 Population of study
3.6 Sample size and sampling technique
3.7 Instrumentation
3.8 Validity of instrument
3.9 Reliability of instrument
3.10 Instrument return rate
References
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 Presentation, data analysis and interpretation
4.2 Research question one
4.3 Research question two
4.4 Research question three
4.5 Research question four
4.6 Research question five
4.7 Research question six
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSIONS
5.1 Summary of findings
5.2 Recommendation
5.3 Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE STUDY
Budget is a financial programme of action designed to guide the future operations of an organization. According to Henry 1980: 206 of the many various of systems theory that have been applied to problems of public administration budgetary concepts have had the longest and most pronounced impact on the field.
According to Wildavsky (1974:4) a budget is a series of goals with price tags attached” the budget represents a way of thinking about measuring and evaluating public policy (Henry Op Cit 208).
Budget has a great impact on the behaviours of public officers in Nigeria. Olewe (1995:392) state that every January in Nigeria civil/public servants show particular kinds of interest. Form the budget they can know what benefits they are to derive from the economy and how much tax they are to pat. Budget stipulates the exchange rate at which foreign currencies.
The taxation policy of the government may lead to narrowing down the class distinction and in equalities in the society. Public institutions are controlled through the expenditure is restricted to budgetary provision. Again, budget is used as guide. It serves as a measure of performance of the public institutions (Onubogu 1997: 10)
According to Omebogu (Ibid 12) the inherent values or benefits in budgeting has not been fully drawn by our country in that the nation is still socio-economically backward. For instance the battle against poverty has not actually started our rural communities are in deplorable shape the health situation has not improved our education policy has not given us any cause to cheer the standard of living of the average Nigeria is noting to write home about to mention but a few.
All these are sufficient indicators that our national budgets all over the years leave much to be desired.
In the words of Schick (1978:178) budgeting tends to grossly over estimates administrators capacity to calculate programme the effectiveness and vastly under estimates the importance of political and technological constraints.
This view has been shared by the researcher as one of the major problems of budgeting in the public institutions. It has been observed that most public official have been unable to make the calculation needed for substantial changes in the programmes of their respective department’s policies.
In the word of Obiekwe (1999:18) it has been observed that our nation’s national house of assembly senate do not have the analytical and staff
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