Until recently, the vast majority of legislators in Pakistan’s Punjab province received the proposed budget only a day or two before voting on it. It was impossible for them to weigh in during the planning process, or even scrutinize the budget before casting their vote. The wide range of funding needs was not thoroughly addressed. Legislators were forced to vote on a budget that was, to all intents and purposes, a fait accompli.

As a result, government spending was often hasty and poorly planned; for example, each year, toward the June 30 conclusion of the province’s fiscal year, pressure mounted to spend the rupees committed in the budget—simply in order to avoid losing those funds.

But in February 2009, provincial legislators took an important step toward institutionalizing fiscal diligence by holding their first ever pre-budget planning sessions. Many of the province’s 371 legislators met in Lahore, the capital, bringing with them funding requests from their home districts and recommendations for spending priorities in areas such as health, agriculture, law, and infrastructure.

Held at the start of budget planning and four months in advance of the actual vote, the sessions promise to lead to more responsive relationships between the provincial government and the province’s 82 million residents, as well as between legislators and the people who voted them into office.

“The legislators have moved beyond the stage of, ‘So, how much money do I have?’ and toward, ‘How well is the money being spent for my constituents and all the people?’” said Christopher Shields, Chief of Party for the Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Project (PLSP), which helped organize the sessions. PLSP is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by DAI.

Pre-budget planning is part of the greater oversight and accountability agenda being pursued by Pakistani provincial and national legislators in partnership with the PLSP. DAI has developed customized budget analysis tools that enable legislators to substantively review government expenditures and revenues.

“We’re helping lawmakers develop the tools they need to do the job they were elected to do, which is represent the people, as their evolution continues from officeholder to lawmaker and, finally, to parliamentarian,” Shields said.

The Punjab meetings were the latest in a series of initiatives designed to bolster legislative effectiveness in Pakistan from the grassroots up, including women’s caucuses, orientations for new officeholders, internships, upgraded press centers and information technology, and a new Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services, a learning facility in Islamabad.