GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING (GRB) is a process of integratinggender perspectives into the overall context of collection andallocation of public resources effectively, through the applicationof analytical tools in macro-economic policy frameworks(SADC, 2014). It is one of the most effective tools to mainstreamgender in policies and plans, to redress inequalities and topromote the economic, social and political rights of women andmen. GRB incorporates a gender perspective at all levels ofbudgetary processes to ensure that the needs and interests ofwomen and men from different groups are addressed. Effective GRB is an enabling factor towards improving theresults of budgets in general, and gender equality and womenempowerment in particular. However, despite the significanceof GRB in improving the status of women and men, SADCMember States are yet to fully grasp the concept of GRB andhow the quest to improve national economies is intimately

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Empowerment of women requires the integration of a genderperspective in budgetary decisions on policies and programmes,as well as the adequate financing of specific programmes forsecuring equality between women and men.Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 1995

SADC Gender and Development

Monitor 2018

A summary of issues and findings of the

Tracking progress on implementation of the RevisedSADC Protocol on Gender and Development

Gender Responsive Budgeting

Policy Brief No 2

linked to the concrete attainment ofgender equality through the allocationof adequate budgetary resources. This policy brief gives a concisesummary of GRB in SADC MemberStates and recommended policy optionsaimed at improving public financemanagement practice to ensure nationalbudgets practically address genderequality priorities and commitments.

Frameworks on Gender ResponsiveBudgetingIn order to enhance the efforts of SADCMember States in implementing GenderResponsive Budgeting, SADC developedguidelines on GRB. The SADC Guidelineson Gender Responsive Budgeting 2014 aredesigned as a common referenceframework for SADC Member States todevelop effective public financemanagement practices that ensurenational budgets address gender equalitypriorities and commitments made inregional policy documents. The revisedSADC Protocol on Gender andDevelopment, for example, requires Stateparties to ensure gender-sensitivebudgets and planning, including theallocation of necessary resourcestowards initiatives aimed at empoweringwomen and girls. The SADC Regional IndicativeStrategic Development Plan (RISDP)

indicates the adoption of economicempowerment policies and strategies forwomen by Member States in order toaddress inequalities in access to andcontrol of resources, includingdevelopment of specific programmes andestablishment of GRB initiatives. Further,the SADC Gender Policy recommendsthat Member States integrate unpaid workfor women into national accounts andbudgeting processes. SADC Member States are party tothe Convention on the Elimination of allforms of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW) and the Beijing Declarationand Platform for Action (BDPfA) whichcommit governments to assess howwomen compare with men asbeneficiaries of and contributors togovernment budgets. The BDPfA acknowledges thatfinancial and human resources havegenerally been insufficient for theadvancement of women, therefore,countries are encouraged to integrate agender perspective in budgetarydecisions on policies and programmes.With these guiding frameworks, SADCMember States have embraced GRB andalthough most are still in early stages,they have scored important successes,ranging from actual expenditure re-allocations to opening up oftraditionally secretive budget processes,thus allowing greater transparency andaccountability (SADC, 2014).

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Gender Responsive Budgeting inSADC Member StatesIn the financial year of 2016/2017, thepercentage of financial resourcesallocated to gender machineries for allSADC Member States was less than onepercent of the total National Budgetscompared to other ministries, asillustrated in the table. For example,in Namibia, the total budget allocation ofthe economic and infrastructure sectorwas 22.2 percent while gender wasallocated 0.8 percent of the total budget ofN$153.7 billion. In Lesotho 0.7 percent ofthe M18,709,3 million budget wasreserved for the gender machinery, whilethe Ministry of Finance and DevelopmentPlanning received 4 percent and theMinistry of Defence 4.3 percent. The low

national budgetary allocations to gendercould be attributed to the assumption thatgender machineries receive fundingsupport from international developmentorganizations to implement programmes.Secondly, marginal budgetary allocationsto gender could be due to the directivethat has been placed on all governmentministries to mainstream gender intotheir programmes and processes. It isassumed that issues affecting women andmen which would normally be addressedby ministries of gender, will be coveredby all ministries as they implement theirprogrammes in different sectors. Thirdly,the limited allocation of resources toministries of gender can be due to thefact that not much importance is placedon gender equity and equality issues.

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SADC Member States Budgetary Allocations

Source National Progress Reports on Implementation of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development from theSADC Gender and Development Monitor 2018, Ministries of Finance, Ministries of Gender, National BudgetStatements

2016/17 2018/19

Country Gender Ministry Total National Gender Ministry Total National Allocation Budget Allocation Budget

Angola 0.8 K9,658 billion -

Botswana 0.04 P64,3 billion 0.6 P19,31 billion

DRC – F10,3 trillion - F10,352,3 billion

Lesotho 0.7 M18,709,3 million 0.6 MGA 19,830,1 million

Madagascar 0.3 MGA11,595 billion -

Malawi 0.03 K1,297,2 trillion 0.23 K173 million

Mauritius 0.4 R136,7 billion -

Mozambique 0.1 M302,928 million -

Namibia 0.8 N$153,7 billion 1.1 F10,352 billion

South Africa 0.01 R1,67trillion 0.01 R1,84 trillion

Zambia 0.02 K71,6 billion 0.12 K86,8 billion

Zimbabwe 0.5 US$4 billion 0.3 USD8,2 billion

There is little awareness on theimportance of GRB and the benefits it canbring to the development of a nation. In Botswana, focal persons instrategic government institutions havebeen appointed and they integratedgender into economic developmentsectors such as the Ministry of Financeand Development Planning, Ministry ofEnvironment, Wildlife and Tourism,and the Ministry of Investment andTrade. The National Gender Policy (2010)of the Kingdom of Eswatini provides aframework and strategies for gendermainstreaming and empowerment ofwomen. The policy, commits topromoting gender mainstreaming innational budgetary allocations throughutilisation of the availed resources tomeet the needs of target groups. As aresult, Eswatini has trained governmentplanners and gender focal point personsfrom civil society, on gender responsivebudgeting. In addition, the office of theDeputy Prime Minister initiated aGender Impact Analysis of theinfrastructure projects in 2011 thatevaluated the gender impact of selectedcapital projects. This was to determinehow the national budget in theseprojects benefited women and men andhow the concept of GRB could best bemainstreamed into the national budgetprocess.

In Malawi, a Growth andDevelopment Strategy 2011-2016 whichmainstreamed gender in priority areassuch as education and health was put inplace. In addition, guidelines weredeveloped on GRB in the public sectorand the 2016/2017 national budget gavepriority to mainstreaming gender in thebudgeting process. In the United Republic of Tanzania,since as far back as 1997, the Ministry ofGender held workshops on gender-responsive planning and budgeting withkey sector ministries and since thenGRB has been contributing to theempowerment of women. Gender isnow mainstreamed in all sector policies,planning and budgeting. However,efforts on GRB have been declining overthe years (SADC and SARDC, 2018).

Benefits of Gender ResponsiveBudgeting

Health

In most SADC countries, the healthsector is mainly funded by government,development partners, private sectorand the household. However, due to theeconomic challenges which most SADCMember States are facing, assistance bygovernment, development partners andprivate sector have deteriorated,

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affecting women who are in most casesthe majority of the under-resourced. Inrural areas, for example, GRB can be amajor contributing factor to addressingthe linkage between ill-health andpoverty. While poverty and ill- healthaffect both men and women, theproblems get compounded for womenas they lack access to and control overresources and decision making leadingto lower levels of access to health careservices (TGNP, 2018). In rural areas,for example, hospitals encounter highlevels of infant and maternal mortalityand this is directly correlated to lack ofaccess to health care facilities. Women living in rural areas, generallycannot access good nutrition and careduring child birth resulting in the increaseof infant mortality and maternal mortalityrates. GRB in the health sector cantherefore assist in increasing theavailability of affordable insurance optionsfor less advantaged groups and ensuringthat improvement of maternal and childhealth services, supplementary feeding forchildren and expectant mothers areprioritized.

Education

For the education sector, inadequategender sensitive school infrastructuresuch as hostels and toilets can be a majorcause of school dropout by girls and abarrier to accessing education.Adequate facilities and supplies are

needed in cases where girls areconfronted with challenges of managingmenstruation within the schoolenvironment. GRB applied to theeducation sector will address thesechallenges through provision ofadequate infrastructure and sanitaryfacilities for washing, changing anddisposal of menstrual waste that will seeschool drop-out by girls decrease andgender equality advanced. In addition,GRB can be used to propeldisadvantaged boys and girls throughexpenditures targeted at availingscholarships at all levels of education.

Water and Energy

The unavailability of water and energyare a major challenge to women who arein most cases the caretakers of thefamily and in much need of theresources. In communities where watersources are far from homesteads,governments are encouraged to makewater sources more accessible through,for example, constructing water pointsnearer to communities so that womenare liberated from traveling longdistances to collect water. The sameapplies to energy in that, the burden ofcarrying firewood for long distances canbe alleviated if budgets provideaffordable sources of energy for womenand men in most communities,particularly in rural areas were womenare the most disadvantaged.

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Agriculture

Women play a critical role in theagriculture sector. The SADC FoodNutrition Security Strategy 2015-2025confirms this, adding that womencontribute more than 60 percent of foodproduction and make up the majority ofthe labour force in the agriculturalsector compared to men. In ruralareas, women are largely confined tosubsistence farming, using traditionalequipment. In urban areas, women oftenengage in commercial agriculture,however, the challenges of discriminatorypractices and lack of access to resourcesto secure land and market opportunities,are similar to those of rural women. GRBcan be effective in addressing thesechallenges through investing more publicresources in the provision of and access toadequate, affordable, quality, climate-resilient, sustainable andgender-responsive infrastructure andappropriate technologies to enhance theproductivity of women. Theestablishment of more women banksthrough gender responsive budgeting willsignificantly progress womenempowerment.

Mining

The mining sector has vast genderdisparities, with women being largelyexcluded from participating orbenefiting. Most women participate inartisanal mining which is unregulated

and brings with it labour characterisedby poor health and safety standards andadverse environmental impacts. GRB inthe mining sector can be used to addressthe following: Safety - improvement of lighting inworking and travelling areas; providingsafe toilet, shower and changing facilities;and ensuring that women do not have tomove around alone in quiet areas. Adapting equipment – altering workequipment to be women friendly throughadjusting among others the cut and sizingof overalls, the size and fit of helmets,goggles and earplugs, and the sizing andproportion of boots and gloves. Adapting modernisation – as miningbecomes more mechanised, physicalstrength and stamina will become lessimportant as compared to technicalknowledge to operate modernisedmachinery. Women and men should beexposed to new knowledge and trainingon modernised mining equipment

Trade

With women being largely confined toinformal cross-border trade, challengessuch as indecent body searches by malesecurity officers, demand fortransactional sex, verbal insults andname calling are faced daily (SAT, 2018).In some cases officials solicit bribes toallow smuggling of goods due to taxesand other fees, leaving the tradebusinesses with minimal or no profit.

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GRB can contribute to providing solutionsto the said challenges through: Revising tax policy – reducing tradetaxes for women informal cross-bordertraders. Uniform trade tax for all cross-border traders can have significant genderimplications, given that women and mentend to use/consume differentproducts/services. Training of immigration officials –governments should have budgets that arespecifically aimed at training immigrationofficials on issues of gender sensitivity Online reporting platforms – womenand men can register their experiences inthe trade sector; this will facilitate aneffective approach to informed responseand policy formulation.

Policy optionsSADC Member States should use theSADC Guidelines on Gender ResponsiveBudgeting to address the different prio-rities of women and men in nationalbudgets, and direct resources accord-ingly. The guidelines endorse the needfor regional initiatives and fortify the on-going GRB initiatives in SADC MemberStates. Such initiatives will contribute tothe realization of improved nationaleconomies and attainment of genderequality. In addition, working closelywith the SADC secretariat, MemberStates are encouraged to:

Conduct gender analysis to identify•gaps in policies, programmes andprojects. Such exercises will assist tobetter inform public spendingwhich will be beneficial to bothwomen and men; Conduct public dialogues where•citizens can participate in budgetpreparations. The process canstrengthen budget transparency aswell as ensure that budget allocationsare responsive to the needs of women,men, girls and boys;Appraise Members of Parliament on•GRB as important actors in budgetapproval processes. Members of Par-liament will therefore be in a positionto scrutinize and amend budgets asnecessary to cater for gender-differ-entiated needs; Ensure there are sufficient resources•allocated to support gender main-streaming in sectoral ministries, es-pecially in the financial services,economic development, commerceand industry, and that the tracking,monitoring and evaluation ofresults and impact of gendermainstreaming programmes is ca-tered for;Apply gender-responsive budgeting•tools to reorient national prioritiesin, for example, appropriate infra-structure that would lessen theburden of carrying water and woodfor excessively long distances.

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Build technical capacity using effec-•tive practices on GRB in the regionand beyond.

ConclusionAlthough Member States are makingsome progress in implementing GRB intheir programmes and policies, muchmore political commitment is requiredto fully achieve its benefits. SADC

Member States should use gender-equitable macroeconomic policies thatprioritise the use of gendermainstreaming techniques such as GRB. More effort should be applied toinstitutionalise GRB initiatives ingovernment laws and practice. This canbe achieved by making sure that everyministry has a gender focal person; thatway GRB will be mainstreamed acrossmost government ministries.

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THIS POLICY BRIEF is produced by the Beyond Inequalities Gender Institute (BI) of the Southern African Re-search and Documentation Centre through a project on tracking implementation of the SADC Protocol on Genderand Development funded by the Austrian Development Agency. The information is drawn from the SADC Genderand Development Monitor 2018 publication. The policy brief and related information are available onwww.sardc.net. Responsibility for the content of this publication lies entirely with the authors. The informationand analysis do not reflect the official opinion of the Austrian Development Agency. November 2019

References Beall J and Davila J. 1994. Integrating Gender into Policy for Manufacturing Industry. LondonFAO. 2018. The Role of Women in Agriculture. UN FAO, AccraSADC. 2017. SADC Selected Economic and Social Indicators. SADC Secretariat, GaboroneSADC. 2013. SADC Regional Agricultural Policy. SADC Secretariat, GaboroneSADC Member States. 2018. National Progress Reports on Implementation of the Revised SADCProtocol on Gender and Development… Botswana, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mozambique,Namibia, Seychelles, ZimbabweSADC and SARDC 2018, 2016, 2013, 2009, 2006, 2001, 1999. SADC Gender and DevelopmentMonitor: Tracking implementation of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. Gabo-rone, HarareSADC, SARDC 2016. Efforts and Benefits of Mainstreaming Gender in the SADCRenewable Energy Sector. Gaborone, HarareSARDC. 2015. Prospects for Industrial Transformation in SADC – Towards a Regional Strategyand Roadmap. SARDC, HarareSARDC and National Partners 2000, 2008. Beyond Inequalities: Women in Southern Africa,Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe. SARDC WID-SAA, HarareSAT. 2018. Challenges and Experiences of Women in Agriculture and Trade in the SADC region– Zambia, Zimbabwe & Malawi. SAT, PretoriaSouth African Chamber of Mines. 2017. Women in Mining. South African Chamber of Mines,Johannesburg

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