Governments were failing to meet the needs of the poor in many communities on the African continent, despite increased public spending in many cases, World Bank country director for South Africa Ritva Reinikka said yesterday.

Speaking on improving the efficiency of public spending in the role of social accountability, Reinikka said that increased public spending did not necessarily mean more services and better outcomes.

Using the example of a Ugandan survey taken from 1991 to 1995, she said that, at the time, only 13% of the intended capitation grant actually reached schools.

It was found that schools with wealthier parents were able to obtain more of their grant capitation entitlements.

“Budget processes often favour the wealthy,” she stated, adding that, in South Africa, education should be high on the agenda, especially with some schools showing poor pass rates.

To increase public spending in poor communities, Uganda took to increasing the accessibility of the capitation growth by advertising the funding in local newspapers and posting notices at the local schools.

“Because the poor were less able than others to claim their entitlements from district officials before the campaign, they benefited the most from it,” she confirmed.