MEFMI Conducts Regional Workshop on Gender-Responsive Budgeting

The covid-19 pandemic has worsened the existing socio-economic challenges in developing countries. For example, it has reversed some of the progress achieved towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. In addition, the pandemic has threatened the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and further widened the gender income disparities which have been of concern over the years.

Policymakers, including those in the MEFMI region, are therefore faced with the difficult task to close the gender disparities without compromising macroeconomic conditions under the existing policy frameworks. Well-structured fiscal policies that ensure that the collection and allocation of public resources are carried out effectively in ways that contribute to advancing gender equality are of paramount importance. The budget remains an important tool that can be used as an entry point to advance gender equality. In light of this, gender mainstreaming the budgeting processes is one of the areas requiring substantial capacity development. Against this background, MEFMI conducted a regional workshop on Gender-Responsive Budgeting from 25 – 29 July 2022 as part of efforts to enhance understanding of the gains resulting from gender-focused budgeting processes.

The course was delivered in three (3) main parts. The first part focused on the core practice of gender-responsive economic planning and management. Topics such as gender and macroeconomic policies as well as gender-responsive fiscal policy were covered. The second part focused on gender mainstreaming the budget process. This covered concepts such as planning and preparation, presentation and approval, implementation, accounting and reporting as well as monitoring, audit and evaluation of gender budgets. The third part focused on highlighting examples of good practices internationally and regionally as well as peer learning through country group presentations. It is expected that the knowledge and experience gained from this workshop will help participants to improve the gender responsiveness of their respective national budgets.

A total of 44 officials from 10 MEFMI member countries attended the workshop. Of the 44 participants, 25 (57%) were female while 19 (43%) were male. The workshop targeted officials from the Ministries of Finance responsible for budget preparation, execution, and analysis. The workshop was facilitated by Mr. Samuel Tarinda from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Ms. Olive Mbabazi from the Ministry of Finance of Uganda, and Dr. Sehliselo Mpofu from MEFMI.

Prepared by Frank Chansa.