The budgetary process for effective performance of universities in a resource stricken economy: a conceptual framework

Abstract

Sound budgetary processes form the bedrock of public expenditure in public institutions. This article proposes a conceptual budgetary framework for public universities in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's public universities have been under fiscal stress due to the country's harsh economic environment for close to three decades without any sign of improvement to the extent that there is a need to rethink the public university's budgetary processes. To achieve this, the article draws from the early open systems theory by Ludwig von Bertanlanffy (1956), as revised by Gibran and Sekwat's (2009). The basis of drawing from the system theory is that public universities ought to operate as a system if they are to remain sustainable amidst harsh persistent economic environment. The article peruses the intricacies of the current Zimbabwean legislative framework on public expenditure, the relevant Ministry of Finance statutes, as well as the standing budgetary process for public universities, giving birth to the proposed conceptual framework. By perusing various statutes on public expenditure, the article responds to the fundamental budgetary concerns of financial planning, forecasting, efficiency, transparency and accountability in harsh economic environment within the context of Zimbabwe's public universities. The proposed framework, if adopted, could address or minimize the budgetary challenges facing public universities in Zimbabwe. It concludes by illustrating the operationalization of the proposed budgetary framework.

The challenges of revenue generation in state universities: The case of Zimbabwe

“…In line with the above argument, it can be argued that money is important, but while the need for resources often stimulate entrepreneurial knowledge transfer, extreme financial stringency is often seen as an inhibiting factor in that it makes it difficult to take risks and staff have to devote so much of their time to mainstream teaching that they have little energy for new initiatives (Mutambara & Chinyoka, 2016).…”

“…Similarly, in New Zealand, funding was also cut for scholarships and university special projects (Chinyoka, 2018). These general cuts to the university budgets have especially discouraged the development of infrastructure projects meant to increase access to tertiary education (Mutambara & Chinyoka, 2016).…”

“…Zimbabwe's higher education system has not been immune to the tense political situation and harsh socio-economic conditions that prevailed for over a decade. The once revered education system is now a shadow of its former self (Mutambara & Chinyoka, 2016). Many institutions of higher learning have not been operating at full capacity for years, depriving millions of students their right to quality education.…”

“…Zimbabwe experienced very extreme economic hardships leading to rising poverty levels, high levels of unemployment, the decline of the provision of basic public services and financial crisis which culminated into inadequate provision of learning infrastructural facilities, delayed/nonpayment of salaries and bonuses, strike actions and lack of commitment to work among staff members at universities (Mufudza et al, 2013;Mutambara & Chinyoka, 2016).…”

Menos É Mais? Uma Análise Da Eficiência No Uso Dos Recursos Orçamentários Nas Universidades Federais

“…Por outro lado, a performance das universidades está diretamente associada aos recursos alocados (Dobija et al, 2019), o que corrobora o pensamento de que a gestão de performance e os indicadores permitem que o governo analise os efeitos do apoio financeiro e, em contrapartida, os resultados podem ser usados para alocações orçamentárias (Lee & Kim, 2019), visto que o processo orçamentário consiste em uma ferramenta de controle de gestão (Mutambara & Chinyoka, 2016).…”