The Capabilities of the Municipalities in the West Bank to Apply the Program and Performance Budget: Empirical Study

Abstract

This paper aims at testing the municipalities ability to offer the required physical, human and technological constituents needed to implement the Program Performance-Based Budgeting in Palestine. The descriptive-analytical approach was used in this study. However, the study population includes all of the municipalities in the West Bank (121 municipalities till 2021). Therefore, the study population (the respondents) were categorized as (accountants, budget department officials, financial managers, and internal auditors). A sample of the population was selected to represent the study population that includes 150 respondents. 123 completed forms were taken back which represents 82% of the distributed forms. Then a set of statistical methods were used (frequencies statistics, descriptive statistics, Cronbach Alpha test, One Sample T test, One Way ANOVA, and Independent Samples T Test). The findings of this paper show that: Effective implementation of the Program Performance-Based Budgeting requires complete availability of the following constituents (physical, human and technological). The expected role of the budget in supporting the functions of the government management will increase if the Program Performance-Based Budgeting is adopted. Based on the findings, this paper recommends the Ministry of Local Government to formulate legislative texts that help implement the Program Performance-Based Budgeting, and develop detailed accounting guidelines. Also, it recommends the municipalities gradually shift to Program Performance-Based Budgeting.